YuGiOh! 5D's: Warriors of the Sky!
by Kima73
Summary: A black fog has covered satellite.All of its residents have disappeared.However, there are a few survivors. But...there's something wrong. Why are they being chased by people calling themselves Dark Signers? And, why did they survive when no one else did?
1. Chapter 1: The Lone Duelist

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's. I do however, own a few of the cards. Those will be marked with a (*).**_

A/N: For those of you who know of my old stories, I want to let you know that I won't be finishing any of them, so don't hold your breath. I will be finishing this one, no matter what. So, even if the chapter updates are a bit slow, don't worry, they'll get there. Also, this fanfic starts on episode 44, when Satellite is covered by the black fog. In this, there are four survivors. These people meet up with both the Signers, and the Dark Signers. As they try to learn of what is going on, they'll also learn why they were the only ones who survived. (Yes, I know that crow survived, but he doesn't count.) I want you to know that the survivors are OC, so they are mine.

* * *

**Chapter 1: The Lone Duelist...**

Matsu awoke in a dark room, the area completely silent. He shook his head as he got up, wondering what had happened here. He walked out of the room, looking for an exit. Fortunately, it didn't take him too long to find one. He was surprised to see that there was no one outside. "Strange..." he said. It was then that he noticed something. There was a black fog over the area. He waved his hand around, but could not feel anything at all. It was almost as if there was no wind. Wanting to learn more about what had happened, he walked around, hoping to find someone with answers.

"What happened here...?" he wondered. As he looked upon the empty buildings, the strange black fog, and the once crowded paths, things finally came back to him. "That's right!" he said, stopping in his tracks. He finally remembered. "The fog...Everyone saw that explosion and told us to run. Is that why I can't seem to find anyone here?" he asked himself. "Still, why am I here? Last I remember, the fog swallowed me up."

He looked down a dark alleyway near him. He remembered that this was a favored hangout often used by one of his friends. He thought that there would probably be someone there, but all he found was a duel disk. It was black, with a gold stripe crossing a blue one, making an X. He was shocked to see it there. "That's his! That's...Trevor's duel disk!" His friend, who was not only famous for his dueling skills, was also famous for carrying his duel disk everywhere he went, trying to defeat anyone he found in a duel. "He'd never leave it all alone like this. Something must have happened to him too." He picked it up. It seemed to be in good condition, but the cards were missing. He turned around, finding a person in a cloak with a glowing purple birthmark on his right arm.

"Who are you?!" The man did not move. "I'm warning you! You'd better start talking now! What happened to everyone here? "He was serious. He wanted to know what was going on, and he had a feeling that this man could answer those questions. The man looked down at the duel disk that Matsu was holding.

"I see you managed to survive...That's not good. You cannot be allowed to live. Now, either give up your soul or try to win your life in a Duel of Darkness." Matsu couldn't believe this. This man, who he had never even seen before, was threatening him! "If I duel you, will you give me some answers?" The man laughed, his raspy voice could be heard all over. "You'll have to win, but don't count on it!"

Matsu put on the duel disk. He wondered how he would fight. If the cards in the duel disk had gone missing, then there's a chance that his were gone too. Yet, he reached into his pocket, taking out his deck. 'Why do I still have my cards? Is it possible that Trevor just took his cards and ran?!' he thought. Normally, his friend would not do that, but then again, things were getting upside down lately. First with those people that followed around some strange men…and now this. He shuffled his cards and put them in the duel disk. "Alright then. I will get an answer out of you!"

The man smirked and raised his left arm, causing a dark purple flame to appear and surround them. "What is this?!" he asked him. "This is a Duel of Darkness. In this duel, you take actual damage from attacks. And when you lose, your soul will be offered as a tribute for the gods!" Matsu was shocked. A duel that could actually kill him. He wasn't sure whether or not to believe this man, but since he was surrounded by those flames, he couldn't get out of it. "Well then, I guess I'll just have to win!"

They drew their cards, and the duel officially started. His opponent went first. "I'll active Call of the Mummy. With this card, if I have no monsters on my side of the field, I can special summon one Zombie type monster from my hand. I'll use it to special summon my Giant Axe Mummy (1700/2000) in attack mode! Next, I'll summon my Master Kyonshee (1750/1000) in attack mode. Now, I'll place two cards face-down and end my turn."

'What?!' thought Matsu. 'He's already got two strong monsters out on the field! Damn it...' He drew his card, observing the field and the cards in his hand. There was little he could do. He looked at his hand. He had a Dragon Dwelling in the Cave, a Luster Dragon, a Luster Dragon #2, a Dragon's Mirror, a Dark Door, and a Just Desserts. He could make sure that he had a good defense, but there was the little matter of his opponent's face down cards. "I'll one monster face-down in defense mode! Next I'll place one card face-down and activate my spell card, Dark Door! While this card is face up on the field, both of us can attack only once per turn." He was safe for now, he thought. He had Just Desserts, so he could inflict extra damage to his opponents if he summoned another monster, and his dark door prevented any additional damage from being done to him. Also, his Dragon Dwelling in the Cave had a high defense. (1300/2000)

His opponent drew his card. "My move. Now, I'll activate my trap card, Non-Aggression Area. By discarding one card, I can activate this card's effect. Now, on your next turn, you can't summon, set or special summon. Next I'll summon Reborn Zombie (1000/1600) in attack mode. Next I'll activate my Pot of Greed, which allows me to draw two cards!" He drew them, an evil smile on his face as he looked at them. "I'll now equip my Reborn Zombie with Ballista of Rampart Smashing. When a monster attacks is equipped with this card, it gains 1500 attack points when it attacks a face-down defense position monster. And from my hand, I'll equip my Zombie with Fairy Meteor Crush! Attack his face-down!"

The monster was destroyed, and that was all that it took to convince Matsu of his opponent's words. Once the monster was destroyed, the attack continued and hit him too. He was thrown back by the impact and hit wall of flames. One thing that resulted from this, he found out that the flames don't burn you. Another thing that resulted from this, he found out that there really was no escape. He struggled to get up, the damage he took was worse than what he thought. He was glad though. His life points only decreased by 500 points, so he had a total of 3500. "I'll end my turn, and your life soon enough." said the mysterious man. Matsu drew his card. It was the trap card, A Hero Emerges. However, the only problem he had was his opponent's trap. He couldn't do anything on this turn. "I guess I'll just skip this turn."

Now it was his opponent's turn. Fortunately, Matsu had no defensive monster on his side of the field, so he didn't have to worry about any attacks that would be over 2000 attack points. "I draw." said his opponent. Matsu wondered what he was going to do. "I'll summon D.D Guide in defense mode." Something strange happened. The monster appeared on Matsu's side of the field. "I can see that you are confused. I'll explain. You see, when my D.D Guide is normal summoned, it gets switched to your side of the field. Now, I'll end my turn. And D.D Guide's monster effect activates. Once a player reaches their end phase, they must remove one card from play from their graveyard. So, I'll remove from my graveyard my Non-Aggression Area." Matsu's turn was up. He drew his card. It was Spirit Ryu. It was perfect. If his plan worked, then the duel would be over by his next turn. "I summon Spirit Ryu. Now, I'll activate my monster's effect. For every dragon type monster that I discard from my hand, I get to raise his attack points by 1000. And I'll discard my Luster Dragon. Thus, his attack points will be increased by 1000 points! Now! Attack his Reborn Zombie!" The monster was attacked, and once again, it stayed on the field. However, it seemed as if Matsu's plan would work. His opponent had just lost 1000 life points, making it 3000. "I'll place one card face-down and end my turn." Now it was the end of his turn, and his opponent chose to remove his Dragon Dwelling in the Cave.

"Good move. I expected nothing less from a servant. However, I shall win this duel!" He drew his card. 'A servant? What's he talking about?' he thought. He had no idea what the guy meant, but had to ask. "Hey! What do you mean, a 'servant'?!" But he had received no answer from his opponent. Instead, his opponent just kept going with his turn. "I'll activate my trap card!" yelled Matsu. The hologram of his face-down card appeared, revealing itself to be Just Desserts. "For every monster on your side of the field, you lose 500 life points, and since you have three, that's a total of 1500 points!" The monster in the card attacked, and a groan was heard from the man when the attack hit. Still, the man stayed up, and merely continued with his remaining 1500 points. "I'll sacrifice my Giant Axe Mummy to summon my Dark Dust Spirit (2200/1800) in attack mode! To make it even better, when this monster is summoned, it can destroy all face-up monsters on the field. Now, attack him directly and end this duel!" Matsu smiled. It looked like his plan was going great. "I'll activate my trap card, A Hero Emerges! When I am attacked, my opponent picks one card from my hand and if it is a monster, then I can special summon it to the field. However, I only have one card in my hand, and it just happens to be my Luster Dragon #2!" (2400/1400) The monsters battled, with Matsu's dragon overpowering Dark Dust Spirit and destroying it. "Due to that, you have lost 200 life points!" Now his life points had reached 1300 points. "I'll end my turn then..."

Matsu was glad that things had been working so far. "My turn!" he said, looking at the card that he had just drawn. This time, it was his Drill Dragon*. Still, he had no use for it right now, and playing one of his trump cards was a bad idea to do when you have a duel locked up. He kept it in his hand. "Luster Dragon! Attack him directly!" The smoke from the explosion was pushing him back, but he still managed to stay up. His enemy was defeated. He heard a scream, and looked up to find the man turning into dust, and a light that escaped from that dust flew up into the sky. "What was that? He just...Disappeared!"

Unsure of what to do, he walked out of the alley. He thought about what had just happened. Then it hit him. That guy found him way too easily. Could it have been a trap? He guessed it was. He wondered something. If he survived, that means that there should be someone else who also survived. And if that was true, then there would be more people that survived. However, that would also mean that there were more people like the man he had just dueled. But, who's to say that there weren't more people like that man wandering around already? This would definitely be a problem. He decided on what to do. If he was going to search for survivors, then he had to do it quickly…before they were attacked by those strange people.

He started to walk, only to trip and fall onto the ground. He tried to get up, but as he did, he found that he was bleeding. His arms were hurt the most from that duel, but his legs were badly scratched, and his back hurt from when he was thrown against that flaming wall. "That was a strange duel..." he said to himself. "Still, I need to move... before one of those weird guys finds me and tries to duel me too." He tried to get up, struggling to do so, but he managed to do so.

He thought about where he was. After looking around for a while he finally remembered where. He was close to the bridge. It was perfect. The only way for him to try and find survivors is to move quickly. Not only that, but in order for him to do so, he had to reach his hideout. Fortunately for him, his hideout was not too far. At the rate he was moving, he would probably reach it in a couple of hours. He walked along, headed to his hideout, with a smile on his face. Not only had he fought in that duel and lived, but he was also close to his D-Runner.

Still, some things bothered him. Why was that man chasing after him in the first place? That man knew where he would be, and that he survived. It was not merely some coincidence. The whole thing seemed to be planned. It's like they knew that this would happen. Even worse, they wanted his soul too, and he had no idea why all of this was going on. He stopped at building. It was dark, and seemed to be connected to another. He wondered if he should go in. Not only would it be a shortcut, but it would also keep him hidden from sight. And he needed to hide right now. Still, if those guys knew about him, and were trying to track him down, they would probably be close. If they saw him enter through the building, he would be dead, for he couldn't survive another duel the way he was now.

He decided to enter, quickly walking up the stairs and reaching the roof. From there, he could see a couple of people walking down the road, but they were too far away for him to notice anything about the way they looked. He could, however, determine that they were the same type of people as the man that he had dueled. He knew this because they were together, which was strange, since he had yet to find any survivors. Even if that didn't count, the fact that they were walking slowly, as if nothing was wrong assured him that they were not the people he wanted to find. If anyone survived, then they wouldn't be walking around as if everything was as it always was.

He decided to go down the fire escape on the back of the building, making it easier for him to move without being seen. He moved along the small alleys between the buildings, hiding wherever he could whenever he heard one of those men passing by. Eventually, he finally did make it back to his hideout. By that time, it had already gotten dark.

He walked to a small locker that was in his room. He had quite a few medical supplies there. Within the hour, he treated all of his wounds. They were no longer bleeding, numb, scratched, or even hurting. It was good. Still, he knew that he couldn't strain himself. He wanted to make sure that none of those people found him, at least not until he was better. This was why he did everything as quietly as he could. Occasionally, he discreetly checked the area, to make sure that there was no one there. After a while, he determined he was safe, and went to sleep.

The next morning, he woke up. He checked the time. It was 11:15 am. He moved his arms around a bit. They seemed to be better. Truth was, the injuries were not too bad, but they would still take a while to heal. It was easier to see outside now that the sun was out. He went back to the other room. In it was the very thing that he needed. His D-Runner. He put the duel disk onto the Runner. He began to examine it, checking to see if it was okay and ready to use. It was.

He sat on the Runner. He put his helmet on and waited for the door to finish opening. 'I don't know what is going on here, or why they're after me, but I will find out. After all, that guy said I was a servant. Still, what exactly did he mean?' he thought. The engine revved, and he dashed through the opening.

He rode around for an hour. He still hadn't found any survivors. "Did anyone even survive?" It was then that he heard a sound. It was the sound of blades whirring. He looked up, to see a helicopter flying around. "Hm...If there's a helicopter, then those people must not be from here. That means, that they're here to help!" He started his runner and tried to follow them. After all, they were able to get there, so they must have been unaffected by the fog. Not only that, but if there were any survivors at all, then they would have noticed it tried to follow it too.

From what he could tell, they were headed towards the forest. Could it be possible that the fog didn't reach it? This thought was put on hold as he was forced to stop. There was another cloaked man with a duel disk in his hand blocking his way. He grabbed his duel disk and put it on, getting off the Runner. "So...you want to fight me too?" he asked him. The man had a strange voice, and his face was hardly visible over the hood. "That's right. You shall not get away this time. Now, are you going to accept my Duel of Darkness?" Matsu had absolutely no choice. "Alright then, bring it on!"

The flames surrounded them once more as the duel started. They drew their cards, but this time, Matsu was able to start. He was lucky. He drew some of the cards that he needed. He looked at his hand, hoping that he could think up the fastest way to win this duel. He was glad, for he was holding a Lord of D., a Flute of Summoning Dragon, two Drill Dragons*, a Dragon's Mirror, and an Impenetrable Formation. "I'll begin. I'll summon Lord of D. (1200/1100) in defense mode. Now, I'll activate the spell card, Flute of Summoning Dragon! If I use this card while my Lord of D. is on the field, I can special summon two dragons from my hand! I'll summon my two Drill Dragons (1800/200) in defense mode! Next, I'll activate my Impenetrable Formation Spell card! I can only activate this card when I have two or more monsters in defense mode on my side of the field. I can choose one monster and increase it's defense points by 700 points! And I'll choose...My Lord of D.! (1200/1800) Since it's the first turn, I can't attack, so I'll just end my turn."

His opponent drew his card. He was a quiet fellow. Hardly spoke unless he needed to. "Since you have more than two monsters on your side of the field, and I have none, I can special summon my Fiend Megacyber (2200/1200) in attack mode! Next, I'll summon my Snipe Hunter (1500/600) in attack mode. Now, I'll activate its monster effect. I have to discard one card so that I can pick one card on the field, and then I roll a dice. If the dice lands on a number between 2-5, then the card is destroyed. Go dice roll!" A holographic dice appeared. It spun around for a few seconds, and then it landed on the number 5. "Perfect. Now, your Lord of D. shall be destroyed!" A light shined brightly as Matsu's monster was destroyed. "Damn...Now it's going to get troublesome..." he mumbled under his breath. "Now, my monsters shall attack and leave you defenseless!" Matsu was glad that he thought ahead. Had he not put them in defense mode, that would probably have done a lot of damage to him. "Next, I'll place two cards face-down and end my turn."

It was Matsu's turn now. He drew a card, the one he really needed at the moment. "I'll activate Pot of Greed!" He drew two more cards now, due to its effect, and was lucky enough to draw some cards that were very needed at the moment. It was his Fake trap, and his Draining Shield. "I'll place two cards face-down and end my turn!"

"Good. I see that you have already begun to accept your defeat. Maybe I will show you mercy and kill you quickly." Matsu tried to ignore this. Although it angered him, he had to pay close attention to the duel. "I'll activate my Snipe Hunter's effect! I'll discard the card that I just drew, and I'll pick the card second card that is face-down on your field! Go, Dice Roll!" Matsu was in trouble. The card that he had chosen was his Draining Shield. Sure, he had his Fake Trap as a back-up, but he didn't want to waste it just yet. The dice appeared and spun around, eventually landing on the number 6. Matsu was safe for now. "Damn...Oh well, I guess that I'll just settle for a direct attack! Go, Fiend Megacyber!" Matsu smiled. "I activate my trap card! Draining Shield! now my life points are increased by your monster's attack points, and that's a total increase of 2200 points!" (6200) "That's too bad. Because now, I'll just attack with my Snipe Hunter!" Matsu had forgotten that. There was still another monster on his opponent's side of the field. The monster attacked him, making him lose 1500 life points. (4700) Not only that, but he once again felt the pain that resulted from dueling these people. They were not normal, that's for sure. "I'll end my turn."

Matsu had few choices right now. He drew his card, hoping for the best. What he got was the spell card, Lifesaver*. 'Hm...This is good, but I can't use it yet. What I really need is him...Come on Neo, hurry and come to my hand!' he thought. He was hoping for the best. He just needed that one monster, and a way to summon him, and he would be okay. "I'll place one card face-down, and end my turn!"

"My turn. I'll sacrifice both of my monsters to summon, Flame Ogre (2400/1400) in attack mode. When this card is summoned, I get to draw one card. Next, I'll activate one of my face-down cards! Banner of Courage! This increases the attack points of all monsters on my field by 200 points during the battle phase. Now, attack him directly!" Matsu found that there was nowhere to run, He was stuck there, and was forced to take the hit head on. It hurt him a lot, but he was still able to continue dueling. However, his life points took a big hit. (2100) "Looks like you're about to die. That is good, because it means that I can kill you on my next turn. As for now, I'll end this one."

Matsu drew a card. This time it was the spell card, Reckless Draw!* 'That's perfect!' he thought. This was the card he needed. With this, he could summon Neo and finish the duel quickly. "My turn. I'll activate the spell card, Reckless Draw! At the cost of 500 life points per card, I am allowed to draw more than once." This was it. All he needed was to draw the cards he needed and he could easily win this duel. So he drew four cards, causing him to lose 2000 life points. (100) A light shined and hit him, causing him to get seriously hurt. However, he was able to stay up this time. Not only that, but he drew the cards he needed. He now held: Neo the Dragon Summoner*, Premature Burial, Drill Dragon*, and Waboku. Yet, he was very weak, and had to finish this duel before he could no longer continue..."Ha! I knew you'd become suicidal! Your wasting your own life away!" said his opponent, laughing at what seemed to be the dumbest thing that Matsu could do.

"I activate the spell card, Lifesaver*! If I have 500 life points or less, I can activate this card. Thanks to this, my life points are increased to 6000! (6000) However, they'll be halved on my next turn. Now, I'll activate the spell card, Premature Burial. By paying 800 life points, (5200) I can special summon one monster from my graveyard, and I'll choose, my Drill Dragon*! (1800/200) Now, I'll sacrifice him to summon my Neo the Dragon Summoner*! (2400/0) Now I'll activate his special ability! By sending one card form my hand to the grave, I can special summon one dragon type monster from my deck! So, I'll discard the Drill dragon that was in my hand, and I can special summon Tyrant Dragon (2900/2500) Now! Attack his Flame Ogre!" The monsters battled once more, with his Tyrant Dragon destroying his Flame Ogre. His opponent lost 500 life points. (3500) His opponent decided to activate his trap card. "I'll activate the trap card, Shadow Spell! With this, your dragon loses 700 attack points, and cannot attack or change it's battle position." His opponent felt happy as he saw those chains wrap around the dragon. However, this changed the moment that he saw the chains melting away. "That's my dragon's special ability. When it's targeted by a trap card, the trap card's effect is negated and the card is destroyed!"

"I'll end my turn." said Matsu. He was confident that he would win now. All he had to do, was make sure that he could attack directly on the next turn and he would win. However, his luck was about to change.

His opponent drew his card, an evil smile on his face. 'What could he be planning? There's no way that he can defeat my dragon.' thought Matsu. Little did he know, his dragon could be destroyed. However, that will be the least of his worries..."My move. I'll activate my trap card, Call of the Haunted! Thanks to this, I can special summon one monster from my Graveyard, and I'll choose my Fiend Megacyber! (2200/1200) Now, I'll sacrifice him and send all of the cards in my graveyard to summon my Infernal Incinerator! (2800/1800) I'm not done yet. You see, my monster's special effect activates. It's attack points are increased by 200 points for every monster on your side of the field!" Matsu knew what that meant. With two monsters on his side of the field, his opponent's monster would have a total of 3200 attack points. That was way more than what his dragon had. Unfortunately, he had no cards on the field to stop the attack. "Now, attack his Tyrant Dragon!" Matsu watched, horrified, as his monster was destroyed before his very eyes and the attack came towards him. Once again, he was pushed back, but this time, he was determined to win. He managed to get up. He was using up all of the strength he had to try and keep going. What was worse, not only did he lose 300 life points (4900), but he also had to try and get up again when Lifesaver's* effect would activate itself.

"You were a very good opponent. However, this duel will be over soon. Now, I'll end my turn...so that your self-destruction can continue!"

Then came the flash of light. It hit Matsu hard, and cut his life points in half. (2450) He was on the ground now. The hit he had just taken was horrible. He could barely move. Still, he had to get up. If he didn't, he really would die in this duel. The way he saw it, it was better to have a few broken bones, and still be alive. Slowly, he got up, barely being able to move. His whole body hurt, and he still had to finish the duel. 'I must win...Or else, I'll...' He couldn't think about that right now. If he did, he would lose all hope. He drew his card, believing as hard as he could that this card would help him. It was the card, Nightmare Steelcage. It worked! With this card, he could survive a few more turns. "My turn! I'll activate the spell card, Nightmare Steelcage! Thanks to this, you are not allowed to attack for the next two turns! Now, I'll end my turn."

His opponent began his turn. "You must be desperate. Oh well, I'll place one card face-down and end my my turn." Matsu now had to start relying on hope. He had no cards in his hand, and the next card that he drew had to be the one that would start helping win. So, he drew, and it was also what he needed. It was the trap card, Return From Different Dimension. "I'll place one card face down, and end my turn."

"I'll draw!" said the man. "I can't wait to see the look on your face when you lose. You should have given up when you had the chance! I'll place another card face-down, and I'll end my turn."

'Why is he doing that?' thought Matsu. 'Why hasn't he summoned anymore monsters on his side of the field? Unless...he can't!' He finally remembered when he first saw that card, years ago. His opponent lost to him because he summoned another monster, which decreased it's attack points by 500 points per monster. 'So...If I destroy it, then he's going to be defenseless!' He started his turn, drawing another card. This time it was another Pot of Greed. "I'll start by activating my Pot of Greed, which allows me to draw 2 cards." The cards that he drew were the perfect ones. This time, it was the trap cards D. Tribe, and Burst Breath. "I'll place two cards face-down and end my turn."

His opponent was glad. He drew his card. "Good. Your Nightmare Steelcage is finally gone, and you have left your monster in attack mode. Not only that, but your monster is outmatched! Infernal Incinerator! Attack his Neo!" It was then that something strange happened. As the monster began to attack, a burst of light came from Matsu's monster and destroyed Infernal Incinerator. "What happened?!" The man was surprised to see his monster taken down so easily. Especially when the opposing monster had less attack points. It was then that he saw two trap cards behind the monster. "I activate the trap card D. Tribe, so my Neo is now treated as a Dragon-Type monster! Not only that, I also activate the trap card, Burst Breath! By destroying a Dragon-Type monster on my side of the field, I can destroy all monsters on your side of the field that have defensive points lower than my monster's attack points!" Although it worked, Matsu was now left with no monster on his side of the field, and it was still his opponent's turn. "Damn it! In that case, I'll start by activating Gryphon's Feather! For every spell and trap card on my side of the field that I destroy, I gain 500 life points! By destroying 3, I gain 1500 points! (5000)

Yes, Matsu was safe, but his opponent wasn't going to give up that easily. When his opponent destroyed his cards, it was revealed that two of them were Statue of the Wicked, which special summons a Wicked Token (1000/1000). "Now, I'll sacrifice them to summon Gogiga Gagagigo (2950/2800) in attack mode!" This would cause a problem, since Matsu only had (2450) Life Points, no monsters on the field, and his opponent's monster had 2950 attack points. "Now, attack him and finish this duel!" The monster's large fist hit the ground, but the man saw no reduction in Matsu's life points. What he saw, was just another trap card. "Since I activated my Waboku, I took no battle damage!" His opponent had nothing left to do, so he ended his turn.

Now it came. This was Matsu's last turn. If he didn't do anything now, then he wouldn't be able to win. He drew the last card he needed. It was the field spell, Mountain. "Alright. I'll start by activating the field spell, Mountain!" The ground trembled as the mountains appeared for real. They completely destroyed the buildings beside them. "Next, I'll activate Dragon's Mirror! By removing from play the monsters listed on a Dragon-Type fusion monster card, I am able to summon the Dragon-Type fusion monster! So, I'll remove my Lord of D., and Tyrant Dragon, to fusion summon, King Dragun (2400/1100) Thanks to Mountain, his attack and defense points are increased by 200 points! (2600/1300)" The man merely looked at him. He was curious as to what Matsu was planning. "What are you going to do with that? My monster is far too strong to be taken down by that thing!"

"I'll show you!" said Matsu. "I'll activate the trap card, Return From Different Dimension! With this, I can pay half my life points to special summon monsters that have been removed from play. So, I'll choose to summon my Lord of D., and my Tyrant Dragon!" The light hit him once again, but the only thing that kept him from falling to the ground was the thought of finishing this duel. He was now down to 1225 life points. "Mountain will now increase their attack and defense points, by 200!" Now, his Lord of D. had 1400 attack points, and 1300 defense points. Meanwhile, his Tyrant Dragon had 3100 attack points and 2700 defense points. "Now, my Tyrant Dragon will attack your monster, while my Lord of D. and King Dragun attack you directly!" So it went. With no spell and trap cards on his field, he had no way to defend himself from the attacks.

His opponent was now down to 850 life points. 'Thank god I used Gryphon's Feather. Otherwise, I'd have already lost!' thought the man. Panting, he drew his next card. "I summon Flash Assailant (2000/2000) in defense mode! I end my turn." The man had indeed reached the end of his rope. He had no way to protect himself except by summoning a monster in defense mode, and he was sure that it wouldn't last for long. He was trying to survive now. He felt like he would lose his soul and fail the gods.

"My turn." This time, he drew a monster card. Unfortunately, it was a level six. Normally he would have to sacrifice a monster to summon it, but not this time. "I'll activate my King Dragun's special ability. Once per turn, I am allowed to special summon one Dragon-type monster from my hand! So, I'll summon my Gravi-Crush Dragon (2400/1200) in attack mode!" Now, he would win the duel. "Attack!" Due to Mountain's effect, his Gravi-Crush Dragon also 2600 attack points. Compared to his opponent's 850 life points, and one defensive monster, there was no way he could lose.

So, the dragons attacked. First, the monster was destroyed by Gravi-Crush Dragon. Then, his King Dragun attacked him directly, dealing a lot of physical damage. Once the smoke cleared, the man could be seen lying on the floor. "Mark my words servant! You will be defeated!" Matsu ran towards him, trying to get more answers out of him, but he got there too late. By now, the man had disappeared, the strange light flowing from his body and disappearing into the fog. "Wait! What are you talking about?! Why are you calling me a servant?!" He yelled these words as high as he could, yet he received no answer. He was angry, he had risked his life in a Duel of Darkness, he had defeated both of the people that challenged him. Yet, he had nothing to show for it. Nothing, but wounds and bruises. Just what in the world was going on? He knew that those men had something to do with the disappearances, but had no idea how, or even why they were after him.

Still, he had no time to stay there and think. He had to find out if there were any survivors, and if they too, were being chased. He got his D-Runner, trying to hurry and find any survivors. He thought about that helicopter that he had seen. It was headed to the forest. He wanted to go there and check it out, but he felt he had to look around here some more. He wondered who those people were. The ones who were chasing after him, and the one who had just arrived to Satellite. Who were the good guys?

He guessed that he would find out eventually. Yet, it bothered him. He wanted to know, but he could not find any answers. All he had was hints, and clues, but nothing that he could follow.

* * *

"Hey guys! Look at this!" said Rua. The others walked over to the window, looking at the area that Rua was pointing at. They were all shocked at what they saw. Mountains appearing out of nowhere and demolishing buildings. "Could it be?" said Jack. "Are there people dueling around here?" Yusei was amazed as well. "I thought that everyone was gone. Does this mean that there are survivors around here?" he said. They looked at the explosions, the smoke, and the monsters that appeared in that area until they were too far away. Was it possible that someone survived? It couldn't be. Yet, they had to believe it. Those monsters, the mountains, it _had_ to be real. There was no way that they all imagined that. 'If there are survivors, and we were indeed watching a duel, then...' thought Jack. 'Who won the duel?'

**End of Chapter 1

* * *

**

A/N: Forgive me if you see any mistakes with either the writing, or the dueling. Not only has it been a couple of years since I played Yu-Gi-OH, but it's also been a few years since I've written a fanfic. Anyway, don't forget to R&R. All _reasonable_ comments are welcome. The second chapter is on its way guys, so don't worry. Also, this story won't be that long. It's mainly to introduce the characters for another story that I'm going to write for Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's.

Edit: I realize I misread the fusion monsters needed for King Dragun. It was late, and I was tired. So, you'll see it fixed later.


	2. Chapter 2: Finding another

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's. I do however, own a few of the cards. Those will be marked with a (*). I want you to know that the survivors are OCs, so those are mine.**_

A/N: I'm actually thinking about posting a card album at the end of each chapter. You know, so that you know each card better. Of course, this will only apply to the ones that I made up.

* * *

**Chapter 2: Finding (an)other.**

It was about 1:30 pm. The sound of Duel Runner could be heard all over, but it didn't matter. There was no one there to complain, or even care. The only ones there, were the Dark Signers. Of course, the orange haired boy had no knowledge of their name, or even their intentions. All he knew was that they were after him, and he had to get away. He was already badly hurt from the duel he was in a while ago. Thinking back, he guessed that it was better not to risk his life points like that if he takes damage whenever he loses some. Still, he had to do it. Otherwise, he would have probably lost that duel.

He slowed down. He thought he heard a noise. It sounded close, but the sound of the Duel Runner was muffling it. He stopped to look around. He saw nothing. Nothing, but the deserted buildings, a couple of duel disks on the ground, and his reflection on a nearby broken window. He took off his helmet, and walked over to the window. He wanted to see how bad the injuries were. "Not too bad..." he said, looking at the scars on his face. There were three of them, but they weren't very deep, and one could almost be considered a simple scratch. He took a jump back, surprised when he saw the glint of an object reflected against the glass. Fortunately, he saw this just in time to escape the arrow that flew past the spot he was standing on.

Still, he looked around, trying to figure out where it came from. Once again, nothing. Now, he was surprised. There was no fog in front of him. Apparently, the fog didn't reach this small area. If he looked back at the path where he was coming from, he could see the fog. The same if he looked at the direction he was headed for.

He put his hand on the Duel Disk that was attached to his arm. In a moment, it detached and Matsu took out his deck. Sure, he was sad about leaving it behind, but he could tell it wouldn't be able to take another Duel of Darkness. He put his friend's Duel Disk on the ground, and took one the two that were lying around. He guessed that this was probably another trap, but he still needed another Duel Disk. He picked up the one closest to him. Not because it was closer, but because it looked a lot like his old one. This one was silver, with dark purple highlights. The card panel was in the shape of a wing and was mostly dark purple. There was something about the wing. It seemed familiar, but this was something that he would not remember until later.

He turned around, hoping to see someone standing behind him, just like the first time. However, there was no one there. He found it strange, but decided not to stay here for too long, just in case it really was a trap. He unzipped his white sweater, which revealed that he was wearing a black shirt underneath. His blue jeans were already dirty from that last duel, but after he dusted it a bit, it looked much better. He passed his hand over his face, not wanting his hair to cover his brown eyes.

He reached into a bag that was on his Duel Runner. It was his Turbo Deck. He wondered whether or not he would be forced into a Turbo Duel. Deciding against it, he jumped on the Duel Runner, put on his helmet, and rode off.

He passed a few buildings before he was in the fog again. He wondered if he could find any survivors.

It was now that he realized that the place he was just in was a trap. He thought about everything that had happened there. The noise that he heard, which made him stop. The two Duel Disks on the ground, which made him get off his runner. If he hadn't stopped to look in the glass, he would probably be a goner. Still, he wondered who the trap was for. If that was one of those mysterious men, then the man would probably have asked to him to a duel.

He snapped out of his trance once he noticed the area. He saw a few trees. This meant that he was close to the forest, which is where that helicopter was headed. He wanted to go there, but decided against it at the moment. He took the path that lead deeper into Satellite. Yes, he did know that that place was rumored to be the favorite hangout for those strange men, but there was little chance of them finding someone in all that mess.

By now, he was far away from the edge of town. This was very strange. The deeper he got in, the more he could swear that he kept seeing normal people walking around. At first it was just their voices, but now, he started seeing one, two, three people even! The people disappeared just as soon as they appeared. It wasn't long until he started seeing large crowds. He also noticed that the fog was getting thicker. He soon had to stop. He had no way to see through the fog, and could not keep going any further.

'What do I do now?' he thought. He removed his helmet, hoping to be able to see better, but it didn't work. He was at a loss. It was then that he heard voices. These were even louder than the ones before. He looked around, and saw glowing symbols through the fog. This time, they didn't send one, or even two people after him. No, it was worse...From what he could count, there were at least ten people around him. It was only a matter of minutes before they were close enough for him to see their faces through the fog. Even worse, he had no way to escape, since the fog did not allow any visibility. He heard a clanking near him. He looked at the floor to find a small, metal orb with a flashing red light. "What the-?" It went off, releasing a mist that put others to sleep. He covered his mouth and nose, trying to stop himself from breathing it in, but it didn't work. He fell to the ground with a thud, slowly drifting to sleep. This did not affect him only. The other people were close enough to be affected too.

From out of nowhere, came out a boy, about nineteen years of age. He had black hair that was long enough to grow past his shoulders, though not much longer than that. He was wearing a leather jacket, black shirt, and leather jeans, some steel-toed boots. He picked up Matsu and put him back on the Duel Runner. He attached his duel disk, which contained his cards, to Matsu's Duel Runner. Putting on the helmet, he turned on the Duel Runner. "You punks can't keep this up for long! I'll take you all out!" said the boy.

With a push, he rode off into the fog. Although it was almost impossible to see, he could easily navigate through the whole area. However, from the looks of it, he was also good at multi-tasking. As he rode to a destination unknown to others but himself, he started working with the monitor, trying to do something. Just what could he be doing?

* * *

Back at the forest, in a little house, was a woman named Martha. With her, were four of the Signers. Those were, Yusei Fudo, Jack Atlas, Aki Izayoi, and Ruka, along with her brother, Rua. They were enjoying a delicious dinner made by Trudge, when they heard a beeping. It was coming from Yusei and Jack's Duel Runners. They all ran out to find out what was the cause of it. They were surprised to see the monitor showing a video feed. On the monitor, which was getting a lot of static, it was possible to see parts of Satellite. Based on the speed of the video, they guessed that it was coming from a Duel Runner. "What do you think it is?" asked Yusei.

This question answered itself. A voice was heard, coming from the monitor. Although the transmission was garbled, it could be easily understood.

_"This is going---all Duel---nners that--re nearby. We are---Satellite-----chased by----ople wi---glow----birthmarks.---We--ed help! If---any---dy out there, come---help us--There---traci--chip---the Duel Runner---Use it---find our----cation--Be quick---Uh-oh! They're---"_

And so ended the transmission. Nothing else could be seen or heard except for static. "So, there are some survivors after all!" said Jack, surprised. "From the looks of it, they were being chased by Dark Signers. We have to help them out before they are caught!" said Yusei. This was enough to convince them. He and Jack decided to go after the person who sent the transmission, hoping to get there before it was too late. Meanwhile, the others had to stay back, just in case a Dark Signer decided to attack them.

* * *

The guy couldn't believe this Duel Runner. It was incredibly fast, and was well taken care of. It was a sleek, metallic blue motorcycle. It was similar to those used by Security, but it was easy to tell the difference. It had green and red stripes on each side, running from one end of the motorcycle to the other.

He pushed harder, increasing his speed. He knew what was coming. They burst out of the fog, and landed inside a broken up tunnel. He quickly navigated the through it, stopping at what seemed to be a dead end. It was really a secret door, hidden well by the broken pieces of the tunnel, the rust and moss on the walls, and the fact that the area was dimly lit. He removed the helmet, putting it back on the Duel Runner. Once he was finished removing the things that were impeding his passage, he pulled on a broken handle. After a few minutes, he was able to open the rusted door and grabbed his Duel Disk. The room was very small, but it was not meant to be used for rest. It contained a damp ladder that took you up to the surface.

He grabbed Matsu, who was still asleep, and carried him over his shoulder. He slowly climbed up the ladder, making sure that Matsu wouldn't fall off. "I don't know who you are, or why you are here, but if those bastards were after you in such large numbers, then you can't be all bad..."

Matsu awoke to find himself in a well lit room. It was very clean and comfortable, which was surprising to witness here in Satellite. "Glad to see you're up." said the guy, walking into the room. "You feeling better now?" Matsu sat up on the bed and watched the guy, not knowing who it was. "You helped me?" he asked. "Sure did. Now tell me, why were those guys after you?" he said. Matsu had no way to answer this. "I don't know. I've dueled two of them already, but all they've been done is just call me a 'servant'."

"Really?" he asked, surprised. "I've fought one of those guys already, and he called me that too." It was then that Matsu wondered how they got here. "What happened to my Runner?" The guy laughed. "Don't worry, it's fine. By the way, I'm Akira. Of course, Kira is shorter." he said, introducing himself. "Oh, I'm Matsu. Thanks for helping me out there."

"No problem. Anyway, I've been wondering, why are you here? In this part of Satellite, I mean." said Kira. "I didn't disappear when the black fog hit. Since I survived, I thought others might have too. I've been looking for other survivors, as well as answers."

"Yeah. I've been trying to find out what's been going on, but so far, I've got nothing." Kira left the room for a moment, coming back with a bottle of water and a bag of crackers. "Sorry, but its all I've got." Matsu drank some of the water, but left the crackers aside. "It was you, wasn't it?" said Matsu. "It was you that launched the arrow at me."

Kira sighed. "Yeah, I thought that you were with them. At least you didn't get hurt...Anyway, I followed you just to make sure. When I found out that they were after you too, I had to stop them." he explained.

The sound of a Duel Runner was heard. No, it was the sound of two Duel Runners. They rushed to the window, looking down from the third floor window. What they saw amazing. It was Jack Atlas, and Yusei Fudo. They wondered what those two were doing there. "Could it be that they got my message?" said Kira. Matsu looked at him, confused. "What message?" he asked. "After I rescued you, I sent a message, to see if someone would hear it and help us out. I never guessed that it would be answered. Or even that the ones who answered it were these two."

They looked back down, only to find that they had already entered the building. Kira hurried down, while Matsu slowly trotted behind him. Once he was downstairs, he saw Kira, already in mid-conversation with Yusei. "...so that's why you are here?" Jack looked at Matsu the moment he walked down the stairs. "Hey..." said Matsu. He was still a bit weak from his injuries. "This kid has fought a duel with a Dark Signer" he told Yusei. It was true. Apparently, the scars and bruises were enough to tell you that he had dueled one of those guys. "Dark Signer?" he asked them. "Yes," replied Jack. "Signers have a birthmark, bearing a part of a dragon." He lifted up his sleeve, revealing his birthmark. This one was red. Matsu took a wild guess and assumed that since it was red, he was not working for the Dark Signers.

Dark Signers. That was what they were called. He made sure to remember this. "So, why is everyone in Satellite gone except for us?" Yusei shook his head. "We don't know. We thought that everyone was gone too. I mean, there's still a few people around in the forest, but its because the fog didn't reach them. Why you two were in direct contact with the fog and didn't disappear is unknown to us."

Matsu was glad to have met someone who had some answers, even if they were not complete. "So, are you guys good or bad? I mean, you have a birthmark, just like the Dark Signers, and it may be a different color, but it only means that you guys are their enemies. It doesn't tell us if you guys are our enemies." Jack seemed to be offended by this. "They made the people disappear! It was them...and you have the audacity to asks us if we are the bad ones?!"

Matsu regretted saying that now. It was true. He didn't consider the fact that those Dark Signers were the ones who made the people disappear. "Sorry..." he muttered under his breath. "Like I was saying, Dark Signers also have birthmarks, but theirs is based on the geoglyphs found in the Nazca Plains."

"And their duels kill you if you lose, am I right?" asked Matsu. "That's exactly right. I'm surprised to see that you have survived a duel against them." said Jack. "I don't think it was really them. The two guys that I dueled had the same birthmark, and they were different people." he explained. "Anyways, we'd better get back before it gets late." said Yusei.

"Don't worry, I have a Duel Runner of my own. You guys lead, and we'll follow." said Kira.

Jack and Yusei both agreed. They all hopped up on their Duel Runners and went to Martha's house. Little did they know, that the journey there was longer than it seemed...

For you see, a man on a Duel Runner appeared. His name, was Kiryu, and he was a Dark Signer. He looked much different than the ones Matsu had faced before. Thanks to him, they all got separated. Kira and Matsu were forced to go to the left, which was the opposite way. They had to go with Jack and Yusei, but for some reason, they got lost. This is where fate intervened. They were not meant to find out the truth yet, and fate would make sure of that. Before they learned anything else, they had to find the other two members, they had to find the other two servants.

They rode for almost an hour. Matsu stopped, forcing Kira to stop as well. "Is it me..." he said. "Or are we just going around in circles?" Kira looked around. It did seem familiar. He kept observing the area around him, trying to figure out why. It was then that he found out. The whole area looked the same. "It's like we've been driving around the same exact place!" Matsu gasped, realizing what was happening. They heard some footsteps. They looked ahead, but could only see a glowing purple light. "It's them, said Kira. The Duel Runner hissed, releasing the Duel Disk. Kira grabbed it and clamped it onto his arm. "Don't worry Matsu, I'll take care of this one myself!"

Matsu took a good look at Kira's Duel Disk. It was a dark red color, with green lines that resembled vines. He shuffled his deck and put it in the card slot. The fog began to move and twist around them, clearing the area and allowing visibility. Another man with a glowing birthmark appeared. "So, I see that you two have found each other. In case, I'll just have to take you both out!" said the man.

Kira readied himself. "Why is that, then? What is so special about us that we just have to die?" The man responded with a laugh. "You'll learn that if you survive this duel. Now...will you accept my Duel of Darkness?" Kira nodded yes, and they were suddenly surrounded by flames. They drew their cards and the duel began. Matsu was forced to see the duel from the outside, behind the flames. He watched it closely. He had never seen Kira's deck, and this was a good a time as any to see if the man who saved him was as good at dueling as he was at running away.

Kira had a good hand. Still, good depended on his opponent. If his opponent had a deck built to stop spellcasters, then Kira would be in trouble. He was able to take the first turn, and with the card he had just drawn, he had the following cards in his hand: Mystical Elf, Gemini Elf, Black Pendant, Justi-Break, Forced Requisition, and Roc from the Valley of Haze.

"I'll start by placing two cards face-down," which happened to be Justi-Break and Forced Requisition. "and then I'll summon my Mystical Elf in defense mode! With that, I'll end my turn." Now, a woman appeared on his side of the field. She was wearing a light-blue dress, and was on her knees, almost as if praying.

(4000-4000)

So far, things were going okay. Still, his opponent was up, and who knows what he had. "My turn. Get ready for this servant! I'll activate Magnet Circle Lv. 2!" The card appeared. It had two rings that were in the middle of a laboratory, with a lightning bolt hitting it in the very middle. "This allows me special summon a level two or lower Machine-Type monster from my hand! So, I'll summon Bokoichi, the Freightening Car! (500/500)" The monster appeared. It looked a small, red train. "Next, I'll sacrifice him to summon my Gadget Soldier (1800/2000) in attack mode! Now, I'll place two cards facedown and end my turn." The monster he summoned now was much different than the one before. This one was much bigger. It was a man, with many robotic parts. Almost his entire body, except for half of his face, his right arm, and his left leg, was replaced by a metal substitute of the part. Not only that, but he was carrying a large, white missile launcher. This monster seemed very powerful indeed.

(4000-4000)

'So that's his game...He uses Machine-Type monsters. This will be interesting.' thought Kira. Still, something about this didn't seem right. Well, at least it seem right to Matsu. He had a feeling that this guy was planning something else. He couldn't figure out what it was, but he had a strange feeling that this was mostly a distraction. Now, Kira drew, ready to begin his turn. He drew the spell card Metamorphosis. "I'll summon my Gemini Elf (1900/900) in attack mode! Now, attack his Gadget Soldier." Two women appeared. Like their name said, they were twin elves. They were the monsters he summoned. They did as he commanded, both attacking Gadget Soldier with a synchronized kick. However, they were forced back by an unknown force and the attack was canceled. "That's cause I activated my trap card, Negate Attack!" Matsu had seen a similar style of dueling before, but couldn't quite recognize where he had seen it.

"I'll end my turn." said Kira, knowing that there was nothing more he could do.

(4000-4000)

It was now his opponent's second turn, and Kira had yet to do any damage. He tried not to let this bother him, for he knew that he would get him soon. "My move," said the cloaked man. "I'll activate the spell card, Reasoning! With this, you call out a monster level, and I'll draw cards from my deck until I draw a monster. If its the same level you called out, it goes to the graveyard, if not, then I get to special summon it to my side of the field." Kira tried to think of a level. He knew that his opponent would probably have many monsters that were low levels in order to summon stronger ones. "Level five." That was all he said. If his opponent were to pick up a level five monster, he'd be able to summon it, and it would probably be strong.

The man started drawing cards. There were seven drawn cards. Kira made sure to remember that. "Too bad. I seem to have picked up a level one monster. Looks like I can special summon it now. I'll special summon my Charcoal Inpachi (100/2100) in defense mode!" A large, cut-down tree appeared, lying on the floor. It was completely burned, still smoking. With that, he sent the other cards that he drew to the graveyard. There were 10 cards in his opponent's graveyard now. "Next, I'll sacrifice my Gadget Soldier to summon my Woodborg Inpachi (500/2500) in defense mode! Next, I'll place one card face-down and end my turn." The Gadget Soldier shattered into pieces, and in it's place, appeared another tree that was similar to the burned one that was next to it. This one, however, had machine parts.

(4000-4000)

Kira was impressed. His opponent had just created a powerful defense. He drew his next card, which was Altar for Tribute. "I'll place one card face-down. Next I'll switch my Gemini Elf into defense mode. Your move." He had little to do this turn. All he could do was just place his Altar for Tribute face-down, and remember that his opponent now had 11 cards in his graveyard.

(4000-4000)

"I draw!" said the man. "Now, I'll sacrifice my Charcoal Inpachi to summon Cybernetic Magician (2400/1000) in attack mode!" The black tree began to burn up, hidden from sight by the smoke. The smoke was dispersed, and it revealed a young man dressed in white armor. He held a short, white staff that was made of the same material as the armor that he wore. "Now, attack his Mystical Elf!" The Magician obeyed, sending an electrified orb at Mystical Elf, and completely destroyed it. "I'll end my turn."

(4000-4000)

It was Kira's turn now, and he drew Graceful Charity. "I'll activate Graceful Charity! This allows me to draw three cards, as long as I discard two." He drew three cards. These cards were: Roc From the Valley of Haze, Cemetary Bomb, and Witch of the Black Forest. "Now, I have to discard two of them. Which will activate my trap card, Forced Requisition. So, I'll discard both of my Roc from the Valley of Haze." he said with a smirk. "Now their special effect activates. When they are sent from my hand to my grave, I am able to add them back to my deck and shuffle it." He was getting close to his plan. All he needed to do now were two things. One, do some damage to his opponent. Two, make sure that his opponent had more cards in his graveyard. So far, he had counted 12 cards. "Next I'll summon my Wicth of the Black Forest (1100/1200) in defense mode! I'll end my turn now."

(4000-4000)

Matsu could tell what they were doing. They were both waiting. Even though they could have easily summoned a strong monster, they were waiting for something that would complete their strategy. They were probably missing one card to do it, and were trying their hardest to obtain that card from their deck.

The man drew, wanting to start his turn. "I'll start by sacrificing both of my monsters," The monsters began to disappear, but the magician looked the most shocked at what happened. Matsu was curious as to why this was happening. If these cards were holograms, then they should be able to feel and think. Then it came to him. If their attacks are real enough to harm you, why shouldn't it be possible that the monsters themselves are real too? He wasn't sure about this, and he wouldn't tell anyone else just yet. At least not until he found out if he was right. "in order to summon my Perfect Machine King (2700/1500) in attack mode!" Suddenly, out of nowhere, a large mechanical monster appeared. It was incredibly large, and very powerful. "Next I'll activate, Double Summon. This allows me to summon another monster. So, I'll summon my Machine King Prototype (1600/1500) in attack mode." A smaller version of the Machine King had appeared now, sitting on a small throne. This one looked a lot like the Perfect Machine King, but there were quite a few differences between them that managed to stand out. "Now, their effects will activate. My Perfect Machine King gets 500 extra attack points for every Machine-Type monster on the field other than him, and my Machine King Prototype gains 100 attack and defense points for every Machine-Type monster on the field other than him."

Now his Perfect Machine King had gotten stronger, (3200/1500) and so had his Machine King Prototype. (1700/1600)

"Now, attack his monsters!" he called out. The machines did as commanded, and destroyed both monsters, a piercing scream was heard from them just before they disappeared. "I'll end my turn."

(4000-4000)

"You activated my Witch's special ability. When she's destroyed and sent to the graveyard, I can add one monster from my deck to my hand as long as it had 1500 defense points or less. So, I'll choose my Magician of Faith!"

With his Magician in his hand, he began his turn. This time, he drew Linear Accelerator Cannon. "I'll place one monster face-down in defense mode and place one card face-down. I'll end my turn with that..." He seemed to be at the end of his rope, but he was not giving up yet. Once his monster was attacked, he would take a lot of damage, but his plan would finally work. 'There's fourteen cards...' he thought. With his Linear Accelerator Cannon face-down, he knew that he only needed to survive another turn to win this duel.

(4000-4000)

The man drew a card. There was a strange smile on his face that seemed to warn of an imminent danger. "I'l sacrifice my Machine King Prototype to summon, Great Maju Garzett, (0/0) in attack mode!" The smaller version of the terrifying Perfect Machine King was gone. In it's place, was a larger creature. It resembled an undead animal, but not of one that Matsu could recognize. In fact, it looked like it was the result of the combination of many monsters.

"Now it's effect will activate. It's attack points are twice the original attack of the monster used to summon it." It was horrible. That creature that he had just summoned had its attack points increased. Even worse, at 3200 attack points, it surpassed that of Perfect Machine King's attack points! It even let our a loud roar that was a clue as to its attack power. "Unfortunately, by sacrificing my Machine King Prototype, my Perfect Machine King's attack points are decreased by 500 points. So now its back to 2700 attack points. Now, attack his monster, and then go after him!"

His Perfect Machine King went first. It destroyed his Magician of Faith, and then Great Maju Garzett went after his life points.

It hit him hard, but Kira was strong enough to go on. And now, it was his turn.

(4000-800)

"Now my Magician of Faith's effect activates. Thanks to it, I am able to take a spell card from my grave and add it to my hand!" He knew which card to take. It was his Graceful Charity card.

'Fifteen cards in his graveyard...' he thought. He drew his card, a smile on his face. He drew one of the cards that he wanted, which was Roc from the Valley of Haze. "I'll start by activating the spell card, Graceful Charity." He drew the following cards: Magic Cylinder, Kuriboh, and a Pot of Greed. "Now I have to discard two cards, and since my Forced Requisition is still on the field, you have to do the same too!" So, he discarded his Pot of Greed, and his Roc from the Valley of Haze, with its effect activating and sending it back to his deck.

"That's 17 cards in your grave! I'll activate the trap card, Cemetary Bomb. Now, you'll take 100 points of damage for every card in your graveyard!" The card counted up the total and released a light that would inflict damage equal to the total amount of cards. That was a total of 1700 points, and it hit him hard. Unfortunately for the cloaked man, Kira wasn't done yet.

(2300-800)

"Now, I'll summon my Kuriboh (300/200) in defense mode! Next I'll activate Metamorphosis! I'll tribute my Kuriboh, to summon my Thousand-Eyes Restrict (0/0) in attack mode!" The little brown, flying furball that was Kuriboh disappeared, and in its stead, was a larger, purple creature with a thousand eyes. However, it had a larger, golden eye that was the most noticeable.

"I'll activate it's effect, which will allow me to take control of one monster on your side of the field, and equip it to my Thousand-Eyes Restrict. So, I'll just take your Perfect Machine King, and it's attack points will be added to my monster." The Perfect Machine King appeared on Kira's side of the field. His Thousand-Eyes Restrict had just obtained a massive power boost. (2700/1500)

"What good will that do? It's not strong enough to take down my Great Maju Garzett!" said his opponent, trying to gloat. "Now, I'll end my turn." said Kira, with a smile on his face.

(2300-800)

His opponent began his turn, drawing a card. 'So, he was just trying to lessen the amount of monsters on my field...' he thought. Little did he know, this was as wrong as the answer could get. "I don't care if you have my Perfect Machine King! I'll activate the spell card, Eternal Rest! Since my Perfect Machine King counts as an Equip Spell, both he and your Thousand-Eyes Restrict are destroyed!" Kira pretended to be surprised by this. He watched as his Thousand-Eyes Restrict shattered to pieces, and as Perfect Machine King let out a metallic groan just before falling onto the ground and disappearing.

They were both so close to victory, but only one would win this duel..."Now, Great Maju Garzett! Attack him directly!" Suddenly, a light hit him, knocking him onto the ground, and he watched in horror as his life points went down to zero. He looked up to figure out what had happened, only to find two cannons floating before him. "I activate my trap card, Magic Cylinder! With this I can negate the attack of one of your monsters and you lose life points equal to the total attack of your monster!"

"Damn you..." he said. He punched the ground, quickly getting up and running towards Kira. He wanted to kill him, but it was too late. Just before he got to him, he froze, turning to ash like the others before him. And like the others before him, a purple light appeared in the spot he was on and disappeared into the fog.

(0/800)

Matsu was impressed. He just saw someone defeat his opponent without ever once doing any battle damage! Obviously, this guy was something else. But this was a victory that couldn't be enjoyed for very long. They felt the ground shake. "What the hell is going on?" asked Kira. "I think a better question would be, what is that?!" said Matsu, pointing up to the sky.

It was large. It looked sort of like a giant spider, and the image could be seen floating up in the sky. They hopped on their Duel Runners and headed in its direction. They had to find out what it was. After all, that's where Yusei and Jack went. "What do you suppose it could be?" asked Kira. "I don't know, but I have a feeling that it's the least of our worries..."

It had only been about ten minutes, and they had a long way to go. The fog was very thick, so they could only rely on the floating image on the sky to guide them to Jack and Yusei. But fate was not done with them yet...In fact, it had just started. They felt the ground shaking again. They slowed down, not wanting to spin out of control. It was then that they noticed something very terrifying. It was a large, black creature that resembled the floating image in the sky. It was unbelievably large. As it moved around, it destroyed all that was around it. This was a very large problem. For the destruction that the creature was causing, was also spreading. The buildings fell, one after another, until the ones that were close to Matsu and Kira began to fall as well.

It was time for drastic measures. They turned to the right, picking up speed every second as the crumbling buildings followed close, trying to crush them. "We're not going to make it!" yelled Matsu. They were already going over 130 mph, and the buildings in front of them also began to crumble, trying to block their path. They were still riding, still not admitting defeat. The path in front of them was blocked, and there was no way to return.

Then Kira remembered something very important. He knew this place! He rode through here a lot, and he remembered that there were always a few duelists trying to do tricks with their Duel Runners by jumping off a ramp. Not only that, but there was a small alley between the next couple of buildings. The alley itself was a dead end, but someone had put a ramp there not too long ago. If they exited through there, by use of the ramp, they could avoid being crushed. However, they would end up being as far away from Jack and Yusei as possible. "Matsu, follow me!" Matsu had no choice but to trust him and his actions. They went through the alley, using the ramp to jump over the wall and land safely in another isolated area of Satellite.

Matsu looked back. He saw the buildings crumble and cover the whole area. If it hadn't been for Kira, they would have been dead. He looked up at the sky again. There was no image there anymore. There was no giant monster there anymore. There was nothing there.

There was nothing else to do but take the long way and try to meet up with Jack and Yusei again. "We're in B.A.D territory now...So, be careful." Matsu heeded his warnings. Kira obviously knew the layout of Satellite better than anyone. If that wasn't enough, Matsu had heard that B.A.D territory was the worst part of Satellite. He also heard that the fog had originated somewhere around here.

They stopped about 50 yards away from a large hole. It looked strange. "Could this be the cause of the fog?" said Kira. "What do you mean?"

"When I was talking to Yusei and Jack, they mentioned something about the fog starting in B.A.D territory. This hole is way too big to be made by humans, so whatever caused this hole was probably the cause of the fog."

Matsu wondered why this was all happening. It was too strange to be true. He was deep in thought, but then, he was snapped out of it when he heard a scream. They both ran towards the source. They could tell that it wasn't a Dark Signer.

The source of it wasn't too far from them, allowing them to run a couple of blocks before they reached it. It was a few minutes until they saw the glowing birthmark of a Dark Signer. Standing a few feet before him, was a young man with short, spiky blonde hair. He looked like he was eighteen years old, and was wearing a red shirt, some light blue jeans, and running shoes.

"Prepare to face defeat, servant!" said the Dark Signer.

Kira and Matsu stepped in front of the young man. "We won't let you. You want to duel? Then duel me instead!" said Matsu.

"What is your name?" asked Kira. The man was afraid to speak, mainly because he had just witnessed how the Dark Signer dueled. Still, he tried to muster up the courage to answer back, even though he was stammering. "M-my name i-is R-Rick..."

So, fate had worked it's magic and had them encounter a third member of their group. However, just because you know that fate had planned it, doesn't mean that you know what fate is planning...But, this was something that they would learn soon.

**End of Chapter 2.**

**

* * *

**_Up next, learn just why this Dark Signer is a much fiercer opponent than the other ones that they have faced so far. Also, discover why they are all being chased by the Dark Signers, and witness the introduction of an unknown ally. Read it all in the next chapter: Uncovering the Truths!_

* * *

A/N: Well, I tried a bit harder this time. Hope you enjoy this chapter. The third one has already been started, so be on the lookout for it in the next few days. I honestly feel like I did a lot better, compared to the first chapter. Tell me what you think. Also, don't forget to R&R so that I know that this story isn't going to waste. See ya!


	3. Chapter 3: Uncovering the Truths!

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's. I do however, own a few of the cards. Those will be marked with a (*). I don't own any of the songs either.**_

_A/N: I have finally decided on a theme song for this story. It's not perfect, but its as close as I could get. Anyways, enjoy the story. _

_Theme Song: So Cold by Breaking Benjamin._

_

* * *

_

**Chapter 3: Uncovering the Truths!**

There they were, Matsu, Kira, and Rick. All three of them facing a minion of the Dark Signers. "I do not wish to fight against you two. Not yet anyway...My mission is to take him out," he pointed a finger at Rick. "and then I can take care of you two." said the Dark Signer.

Rick gulped. He was afraid of dueling this man. He had just seen another duelist face him and lose. Even worse, he saw the same duelist disappear after he lost. "No way, I can't! I saw what you did! I saw that guy get hurt and disappear!"

Kira was amazed. "Are you saying that there was someone else with you?!" Rick simply nodded, still too afraid to speak too much. "That means...that we came too late! We could have had a chance to help out another one of the survivors!"

"It doesn't matter, I'll only move when you agree to duel me!" yelled Matsu. The man simply refused to duel unless it was Rick. "Tell you what..." said the man. "if Rick can defeat me in a duel, then I can assure that it'll be the last time that you'll see any of us again." Kira stepped forth. "If that's true, then how about _you_ duel _me_?"

Rick knew that he had to do something. These guys, whom he had never met before, were offering to risk their lives for his. He gulped, still trembling a bit as he stepped forth. "T-thanks, b-but I'll h-handle this m-myself. W-want to d-duel? Then l-let's go!" The man prepared himself. "Perfect. Now, when I'm through with you, I'll go after the other two!"

Kira and Matsu stepped back as the wall of flame appeared again. "Duel!" yelled the two.

Rick drew his card, starting his turn. Fortunately for him, the man was generous enough to allow him to have the first turn. He checked out the cards in his hand. He had a good hand, made up of Marauding Captain, Reinforcements of the Army, Combo Fighter, Spiritual Earth Art-Kurogane, Upstart Goblin, and Gamble.

"I'll start by activating the spell card, Reinforcements of the Army!" Rick felt really confident at the moment. He had a surefire plan to make a defense strong enough to block any incoming attacks. Not only that, but his opponent had no face-down cards, so he could pull it off without any worries. "With this, I can add a level 4 or lower Warrior-Type monster from my deck to my hand." The deck shuffled itself. When it stopped, there was a card on top of it that seemed like it would fall out. This was the card he chose. "Next, I'll summon my Marauding Captain (1200/400) in attack mode! Thanks to its monster effect, your monsters cannot attack any of my monsters other than this one! Plus, it has another effect! When it's normal summoned, I can special summon another level four or lower monster from my hand! So, I'll choose the monster that I added to my hand with Reinforcements of the Army, and that was...another Marauding Captain! (1200/400)" He placed the card, causing a man wearing a lot of armor and wielding two swords to appear. Now, there were two Marauding Captains on the field. He had indeed created a powerful defense. Still, his turn wasn't over yet.

"Now, I get to use my second Marauding Captain's effect, and summon another monster from my hand." He placed the third card on the Duel Disk, causing another monster to appear. This one was a young man, with red, spiky hair, a long green headband wrapped around his head. He was also wearing bandages on both of his arms. He was well built, and seemed to be martial arts fighter of some sort. "I summon Combo Fighter (1600/800) in attack mode! I'll end my turn."

_'Yes! I have a great defense! If he summons a monster, he won't be able to do any damage to me. Since he can only attack my Marauding Captain, I made sure to put two of them so that all of his attacks are canceled!'_

(4000-4000)

It was his opponent's turn now, drawing a card as he started. "I'll start by activating the permanent spell card, Gravekeeper's Servant! With this, unless you send one card from the top of your deck to the grave, you cannot attack. To make it even worse, I'll activate the permanenet spell card, Toll! Now, unless you also pay 500 Life Points, you can't attack. Of course, that spell affects me too. I'll summon Humanoid Slime (800/2000) in defense mode!" All of the cards appeared one after the other. Both of the spells were face-up. One of the spells had a guard standing in front of a gate, with a poor man handing him a gold coin. The other spell had a picture of a graveyard, with the silhoutte of a creature that resembled the Grim Reaper projected on the moon. Then came a blue slime monster that was in the shape of a human and wore gold armor. "Now, I'll finish my turn by activating the permanent spell card, Messenger of Peace! As long as I pay 100 life points each turn, we cannot attack with monsters that have 1500 attack points of more!"

(4000-4000)

_'Damn! He's got me! I thought I had a great defense, but he's got a better one! Not only do I lose cards and life points for each attack, but I need a monster that has 1500 attack points or less to do it. Let's not forget the slime monster. With its 2000 defense points, its unbeatable!' _

He drew his next card. It was Tribute to the Doomed. His fear had slowly began to rise. It wasn't affecting much, but that was because his opponent had yet to harm him. But, the moment he does, the fear would finally get to him, and it would severely affect his dueling. "I'll activate Tribute to the Doomed. By discarding the Gamble that I have in my hand, I can destroy one of your monsters! So say goodbye to your Humanoid Slime!" The spell card appeared on his field. Then, a mummy came jumped out and landed before Humanoid Slime. It wrapped it around in bandages and they melted into the floor, disappearing from the field. "I'll place one card face-down, and end my turn."

He placed his Spiritual Earth Art-Kurogane on the Duel Disk. _'I'm sure that this will come in handy later...'_

(4000-4000)

His opponent had drawn his next card. A light emerged from the Messenger of Peace Card that was on the field, and hit him. The damage wasn't much, but he did lose 100 life points. "I'll place one monster face-down in defense mode, and I'll place one card face down. Your move."

(3900-4000)

Rick drew his next card. It was Amazon Archer. "I'll summon Amazon Archer (1400/1000) in attack mode." A young woman, wielding a bow and arrow appeared. "Now, I can activate her effect. By sending two monsters on my side of the field, you lose 1200 life points! So, I'll send my Combo Fighter and one of my Marauding Captains!" The woman pulled back on the arrow, aiming at the man. She released it, and it flew at a high speed, hitting the man in his shoulder. "I'll end my turn."

(2700-4000)

It was the man's turn now. Once again, the light from Messenger of Peace hit him, and he lost 100 life points. "I start by flip summoning Dummy Golem (800/800) in attack mode!" A small golem appeared on the field when he placed the card on the duel disk. "Now, choose one monster that you control, and control of it is switched to me, as long as I give you this one."

Rick was unsure of which to choose. There could have been many ways for his opponent to inflict damage now. Unfortunately for him, he had no idea how his opponent was going to attack. Eventually, he chose a monster, which ended up being a horrible mistake. "I choose my Marauding Captain!" Both monsters jumped, switching to their opponent's field.

"Now, I'll activate the trap card, DNA Transplant! With this, I can make all monsters on the field a certain attribute. So, I'll choose the wind attribute. Next, I'll sacrifice Marauding Captain to summon, Swift Birdman Joe (2300/1400) in attack mode!" The Marauding Captain on his side of the field disappeared, and in it's place, was a man with green hair, who looked more like a bird than an actual person. He floated up in the air above the other monsters. "His special ability activates. When I tribute summon him by sacrificing a Wind attribute monster, all spell and trap cards on the field are sent back to their respective owner's hand." The monster flapped his wings, releasing a powerful gust of wind and sending all cards back to their owner's hand.

"Now, attack his Dummy Golem!" commanded the Dark Signer. The monster flew at the small golem and swiped at him, ripping it apart. It then went after Rick, a malicious grin on its face. He swiped at Rick, and then returned back to his owner's side of the field. Not only did it inflict damage to Rick's life points, it also inflicted _physical _damage on Rick. Rick fell to the floor, most of his upper body covered in cuts and blood.

This man really was different than all the others. His strategy was focusing less on having strong monsters to attack his opponent with, and more on making his opponent destroy himself. What was even worse, Rick had the power to defeat this man, but that last attack caused his fear to resurface. He got up, feeling a bit weak.

"Come on, you can do this Rick!" yelled out Kira. "Yeah! Don't let this guy get to you!" Matsu added.

The man activated the three cards that he had before. Rick was in real trouble now. Messenger of Peace, Gravekeeper's Servant, and Toll were once again on the field. The man concluded his turn with that and allowed Rick to start his.

(2600-2500)

But their cries fell on deaf ears as Rick was too afraid to pay attention to them. He drew another card, trembling as he did. His next card was a special one. It was Lightning Swordsman*. He placed the spells and traps back on the field, taking a look at his Amazon Archer, and at Swift Birdman Joe. He was planning on using that trap card of his to bring back a monster, but he would have to wait until the next turn. "I-i'll s-switch my Amazon A-archer to defense mode. I-i'll end my turn..."

(2600-2500)

Matsu and Kira were worried. They knew as well as anybody that when a duelist became nervous, he missed the little details that would have helped him win a duel. "Rick! Pay attention! There is nothing to be afraid of!" yelled Matsu. Rick didn't hear this, and so, he just kept trembling as his opponent continued with his move. His opponent drew a card, smiling as he did. He already knew that he had won. His opponent couldn't attack without losing life points, and if he did, he had to do it with a monster that would be too weak to destroy his Birdman. As he already knew would happen, his Messenger of Peace card shined a light that slightly hurt him.

"I'll place one card face-down. Sorry servant, but you have officially lost this duel. There is no way that you can defeat me now. I'll activate the spell card, Tremendous Fire!" A card appeared next to him. It featured three small monsters surrounded by fire. "Thanks to this, I'll lose 500 life points." The card turned around, and a fireball hit him. It pushed him back a couple of feet, and caused part of his clothes to catch on fire. He patted the parts that were on fire and put it out. He then looked at his opponent. The evil smile on his face served as a warning to Rick. "In return, you lose 1000 life points!" The card turned to Rick now, and a large fireball hit him, pushing him back. Although part of his clothes did catch on fire, they were put out when he fell to the ground.

"I'll end my turn."

(2100-1500)

Matsu and Kira knew that something was wrong. The man said that Rick was as good as done now, but Rick still had life points. They knew that whatever he was planning, it had something to do with that card that he had placed face-down. "Rick! Snap out of it! You can do this! Just trust your cards and believe that you can win!" yelled Matsu.

Rick finally heard what he said. This was enough to force him back on his feet. He drew another card, this time, it was Silent Insect. "I will activate my trap card! Minor Goblin Official!" called out his opponent. The face-down card rose up, revealing a card with three goblins on it, with the middle one looking like he was in charge. "After this, you will lose 500 life points on each of your standby phases."

With this, Rick knew that he only had a few turns before he lost. But he still had to go on. "I will summon my Lightning Swordsman* (2000/1000) in attack mode! I'll end my turn with that." A warrior covered in yellow-grey armor appeared. He was wielding a standard katana that shot out sparks of lighting and electricity.

(2100-1500)

"Glad to see that you have finally lost your senses." said his opponent. In a way, he was close to losing his senses. Sure, he was no longer stammering when he spoke, but he was still shaking every single moment he was in the duel.

His opponent drew, the light from Messenger of Peace hitting him once more. "I'll summon Harpie's Brother (1800/600) in attack mode! Your move." Yes, his move was simple, but Matsu and Kira knew better. They could feel that something was wrong, that there was more to this than meets the eye. He was planning something big, something that no one would see coming.

(2000-1500)

Rick drew, and prepared himself for the hit that was about to come. "Minor Goblin Official's effect activates. You lose 500 life points!" yelled out his opponent. A club flew from the card, and hit Rick. Fortunately, Rick was able to stay up after the hit. "My turn! I activate my trap card, Spiritual Earth Art-Kurogane! By sending my Amazon Archer to the graveyard, I can special summon one level 4 or lower monster from my grave. So, I'll use it to bring back my Ice Swordsman* (1900/300) in attack mode!" Another warrior appeared on the field. This one wore blue-black armor that was incredibly hard. He held a blue longsword that was covered almost completely by mist.

"Next, I'll activate the spell card, Polymerization!" He placed the card on the disk, appearing on the field. A large, swirling portal sucked in both swordsmen. Then, a new monster came out. This one was also a swordsman, but he looked a bit bigger, and more muscled than the others. He also wore dark green armor, and was wielding a standard katana. There was a fierce wind that started blowing the moment he appeared. "Meet my Storm Swordsman*!" (2800/2500) He placed another card on the disk. This one was a monster. "I summon Silent Insect (200/300) in defense mode! As long as he's up on the field, the effects of all continous magic and trap cards are negated!"

A light hit all three of the Dark Signer's cards and turned them to stone. Rick was glad, still trembling, but sure of his victory. Matsu and Kira, however, were extremely worried now. They looked at the Dark Signer's face, which showed absolutely no concern for his life points or monsters. They knew that he had something planned, and were sure that they would see it now.

(2000-1000)

"Now, Storm Swordsman*, attack his Birdman!" The warrior leaped out and swung at the birdlike creature. However, his attack was halted just as it was about to connect.

"I activate the quick spell, Mirage Tube. When a monster on my side of the field is selected as an attack target, I can activate this card. It deals 1000 points of damage to my opponent's life points." he explained. Rick was stunned. The birdman flapped his wings and released another powerful gust of wind. This time, it knocked him back and his life points went down to zero.

It was now that Kira and Matsu found out what the man was planning. They knew it had to do something with his face-down card, and unfortunately, they were right. Rick had lost the duel, and his soul.

(2000-0)

The flames dispersed and the monsters disappeared. Kira and Matsu rushed to help him, only to find him slowly disappearing. "Rick! You almost had him! If only-!" Matsu was cut off by Rick. "Thanks guys. If it wasn't for you, I probably wouldn't have made it that far. Still, I lost, so want you guys to promise me that you'll defeat this guy." It was then that he was completely gone, and a light flew up into the air, gone from sight.

"Damn it. We'll get you for this!" said Kira.

The man stepped forward, a smile on his face as he basked in his victory. "That's one servant down. Three more to go."

Kira took a step forward. "What do you mean 'servant'?" he asked. The man thought it be best to answer his question seeing how he was going to defeat them anyway. Still, as much as he would have liked to defeat three servants in a row, and as much as they would have loved to get answers, this was all put on hold. A trail of red flame appeared, a ghostly face could be seen on it, and it separated Matsu and Kira from the Dark Signer. As they looked around to find the cause of it, they saw a Duel Runner heading their way.

The rider placed a card on his Duel Disk, causing a large bird creature with a skull head to appear. The bird swooped down and grabbed them, leaving the Dark Signer behind the wall of flame. The duelist stopped in front of the Dark Signer. "That will be the last servant that you guys capture. I'll make sure of it, Rudger." said the masked duelist. "I'll get them. Sooner or later, all of you are going to fall. And if you keep interfering, I'll make sure that the last Servant that I take down is you!"

The masked duelist simply turned his head and drove away from him. Once he was out of Rudger's sight, the flames were put out.

Rudger looked out in the direction that the masked duelist went. "You can run, but you can't hide. Next time we meet, you shall feel the terror of the Earthbound Immortals!" he said.

* * *

Matsu and Kira were trapped in the bird's powerful grip. They couldn't get loose and escape, and even if they did, they were too high up to survive. Based on what they had seen, whoever did this to them was a psychic duelist. Whether or not he was with them, was yet to be discovered. They wondered where this monster was taking them, only to find that they were flying over a forest area. It had almost no fog, and they saw a small house that seemed to be in use. They saw that there was a helicopter from Security outside the house, and Matsu assumed that this was where Yusei and his friends were staying.

The large bird flew past the house, landing a few yards away from it. It let them go, and then disappeared. Matsu and Kira were confused, but decided to head back to the house that they had just passed.

* * *

Inside the house, they were all busy doing their own things. Rua and Ruka were talking with all the other kids, Ushio was helping everyone clean up around the house and cook, Jack and Crow were in a separate room, talking to Yusei about what had happened. Meanwhile, Aki and Mina waited for something to happen.

A loud knocking was heard on the door. Most of them stopped to turn towards the door, while Aki decided to open it. She was surprised to see a couple of teenagers standing in front of her, both of them covered with injuries. Most of the people inside were quiet, unsure of what they should do. It wasn't until Jack came out a few moments later that they were allowed to enter. "I thought you guys had gotten caught by now." he told them.

"We managed to escape." explained Matsu, who was sitting down next to Kira in the Kitchen. Aki was also there, wanting to know more about these people. Also in the room, was Rua and Ruka, as well as Mina. Jack had already explained to the others that these two were the ones who had sent that distress call. He and Yusei had met up with them and learned about what happened to them, as well as explained to them what else was happening in Satellite.

"So, what happened to you after we got separated?" asked Jack.

"Kira got into a duel with one of those Dark Signers. Then, for some reason, the buildings around us started crumbling and we had to escape. When we did, we found another survivor." he explained.

Jack looked at the two. "Then, where is he?"

"Unfortunately, we didn't get to him in time. He went up against a Dark Signer, and lost. We would have probably had to go up against him too, but some strange Turbo Duelist saved us and brought us here. We don't know where he went though..."

Now, it was Kira's turn to talk. "You know, I've been wondering one thing since we dueled those guys...Why do they keep calling us 'Servants'?" Everyone was unsure of what they meant, everyone except Mina. They looked at her. It was too obvious that she was hiding something with her shocked expression. "What do you know about this?" Jack asked her.

Feeling like she couldn't hide it anymore, she decided to tell them the truth.

"Godwin said that all of the Signers had a servant, someone who was supposed to help them while they fought the Dark Signers. We were unsure as to how they were supposed to help them, but we still tried to find them. We did a long and exhaustive search, but found nothing. After a while, we gave up on the search, and Godwin said that perhaps the records might have been mistaken. Even then, Godwin thought that they never looked hard enough, and told me that the servants might still be out there. My guess is, that you guys are the servants, and that's probably why you are still here. That's probably why you guys survived being swallowed up by the fog." she explained.

"If that's true, then how are we supposed to know what we have to do? I mean, you said we have to help them, but how do we do that?" asked Kira. At that moment, Matsu thought of something important. "Does that mean, that everyone who survived this is a Servant?"

Mina nodded yes. "What happens when one of us loses a duel before we meet the Signer that we are supposed to help?" he asked her.

"I don't really know what you mean. You are _all_ supposed to meet the Signers."

"Well," replied Matsu. "that's not how it's happening. One of the survivors that we met was also a Servant, and he was defeated in a duel just before we got here!"

Mina was speechless. Things were already going wrong, and she had no idea what to do or say to fix it. Kira stood up. "Let's forget about it for now. Is there any place that we can rest in?" he asked them. Mina nodded, and directed them to a room upstairs. They decided to get a bit of sleep, as well as give themselves some time to let their wounds heal.

* * *

Downstairs, the others were discussing what had just happened. Aki was the one who did not trust them. "...they could be with the Dark Signers for all we know. How else could they survive a duel against a Dark Signer?"

"They told us that all of the Dark Signers that they fought had the same glowing birthmark in the shape of a spider. So, we can safely assume that they haven't been dueling actual Dark Signers, rather, people that were under the influence of the Dark Signers. After all, they said that these duelists had no monsters that even resembled anything like the one that Kiryu had summoned." responded Jack.

Aki didn't want to admit it, but he made some sense. _'I guess...maybe they aren't so bad...Maybe, they could help us out.' _she thought. She was still a bit skeptical, but she would be a bit more open to what they say. Besides, those guys were pretty banged up, and if they were with the Dark Signers, their birthmarks would probably glow and inform them.

The sounds of a motor was heard, and they headed outside to find two Duel Runners with no riders. Yusei recognized them immedeately. "Those are...the ones that Matsu and Kira were riding. How did they get here?"

Another Duel Runner appeared, this one had a rider. Yet, the rider was the same man that had brought Matsu and Kira to safety. Do you guys mind...If I talk to Aki? Privately." The others had no idea what to say, but knew that they should probably keep quiet. It wasn't their place, after all, to tell Aki what to do.

"Why do you wish to talk to me?" she asked him.

His response was a silent one, yet it said what it needed to say. He placed a spell card on his Duel Disk. It was Sword of the Soul Eater. The black sword appeared on the ground, and he picked it up. "This is why."

She was surprised to see this. This man was a psychic duelist. She wanted to learn more about him, and why he wanted to talk to her. "Alright."

Their conversation took place behind the house, so that there wouldn't be too many people listening in. Although they knew that most of the others were around, spying on them. To begin with their conversation, the man took off his mask and cloak. He was a young man, about nineteen years of age, with short silver hair. He was wearing a white shirt, and dark blue jeans, with brown mountain boots.

"My name is Zeke. I was with the Arcadia Movement. Of course, I quit that many years back."

"Then why are you here?"

"I found out I was one of the Servants. So, I learned what I had to do. I had to come here and help out the others. The Dark Signers are after us because we are supposed to help you guys out. How we do that, however, is something we have to learn ourselves."

"Then why do you wish to talk to me?"

"I wish to tell you something. You see, you have extraordinary powers. But Divine knows this too. He's going to come back for you, and he only uses people. I wish that you realize this before it was too late. Like I did."

"You mean, Divine is still alive?"

"Not now...but you'll see him again. This is something that I know well."

"I would like to know something. Why do you care so much about all this? About Me?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe its because I regret what I did while I worked for Divine. Maybe its because I care about you and don't want to see you get hurt anymore. Maybe, I'm just looking out for you...Maybe, its fate, and I am supposed to do this, regardless of how I feel.

"Anyway, I have to go. I'll see you later."

"Wait!" Aki said, trying to follow him as he ran back to his Duel Runner. The others had already gone back inside, hoping that neither of them had noticed that they were there.

Zeke mounted his Duel Runner, and disappeared in a few seconds. Aki was unable to pursue him and went back inside. She looked at the others, who were acting like they had been inside this whole time and pretended to be busy with their own things. She went to her room, and spoke to no one else during that night.

* * *

The day finally came, and Matsu and Kira woke up early. They had sleep very little during the night. They had spent too much time thinking about what had happened to them, what was going on, what they had to do, and how they had to do it. It was a bit much for them to take in, but they guessed that the others probably had it worse. Still, things weren't that easy for them either. They had spent the last couple of days being chased by strange people, beaten down in these weird duels that not only inflicted real damage on them, but would also cost them their life should they lose.

They felt that they had to do something, but were unsure of what it should be.

"What do we have to do? I mean, there's no way that we can beat the Dark Signers, but its not like we have any other option."

"I agree." said Kira.

"Hm...The Signers seem to be struggling with their own things...I wonder what's going on with them."

"Does it really matter?"

"Of course it does! Kira, if only we knew why they are here, maybe we could figure out why _we_ are here. I mean, they aren't here because of fate. Fate may have brought them here, but it doesn't give them a reason to fight. I think that that is what we have to do. Fate brought us here, but its up to us to find out why we are fighting. We beat those other guys, but we were just trying to survive and get answers. We got them, so what's left? That can't be all. I just refuse to believe that this is the only reason why we are here."

Kira knew he was making sense. There must have been a reason. Then he had a thought. "Wait, but its only us two. There's three people missing from the group. I mean, there's that guy that we met, Rick, who lost that duel. And what about the guy who saved us? Its possible that he's one of us too. Let's not forget that we are still missing someone."

This time, Matsu was the one who was forced to admit that Kira was right. They were still missing part of their group. And Rick had lost a duel, so if he was one of them, he wouldn't be able to help them out. Still, that only left the guys who had saved them and someone else that they did not know. "What do you say? Want to go find the rest? We should start with the guy who helped us. If we find him, it'll be easier to find the last one of our group. As long as he hasn't been defeated yet."

"Alright then. Let's go search for him."

They both grabbed their Duel Disks and ran outside, careful not to make any noise. Little did they know, that they were being watched by Rua and Ruka. The twins did not dare to follow them as they left the house, but were still worried enough to tell the others about what they heard.

Matsu and Kira found out that their Duel Runners were right outside. "I guess that the guy did more than just bring us here." said Kira with a smirk. They mounted their Duel Runners, headed to the spot where they first met the masked duelist. They drove as fast as they possibly could. Within a few hours, they were already close to Kira's hideout. They still had a long way to go, however.

"Who do you think that guy was?" asked Matsu.

"I don't know. But he helped us, so I'm sure that he was on our side. Strange thing is, he's a psychic duelist, and he's all the way out here in Satellite. I wonder why..."

"It doesn't matter. Not right now anyway. First, we have to find him, and then we can figure things out!"

They revved the motorcycles and began to go faster. They really wanted to unite the whole group. Or at the very least, find this guy. Whoever he was, he obviously had something to do with them, and they weren't going to let their only lead go like this.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the house, everyone was gathered around Rua and Ruka. "It's true! They felt like they had nothing to do here, like they had no idea what they were doing here in the first place. So...they left, and we don't know where they are!" explained Ruka. "You should have stopped them!" said Jack. "It doesn't matter. We have to go after them. The Dark Signers are hunting them down, and they need some help." Yusei said. Jack and Yusei mounted their Duel Runners and got a head start, while Ushio and Mina started the car and left a few minutes after Jack. Yusei was very determined to get to those two. If the Dark Signers were still after them, then it was a bad idea to let them go at it alone.

**End of Chapter 3.

* * *

**

_In the next chapter, witness the addition of the last remaining member of the group. Also, find out the true reason as to why the servants are there to help, and how they help. Plus, there will be a few interesting things revealed in the next chapter. So don't miss: Reasons for our Actions.  


* * *

_

A/N: I said that I would put in some Card Albums to explain the cards that I made up, so here it is.

**----CARD ALBUM----**

Lightning Swordsman - Monster Card

Type: Warrior

Attribute: Light

Level: 4

ATK: 1900

DEF: 300

A powerful warrior who learned to harness the power of lightning. His lightning fast reflexes and skills make him one of the strongest warriors there is.

* * *

Ice Swordsman - Monster Card

Type: Warrior

Attribute: Water

Level: 4

ATK: 2000

DEF: 1000

A powerful warrior who has learned to control part of Nature's power. He uses the power of ice to crush his enemies and maintain superiority.

* * *

Storm Swordsman - Monster Card

Type: Warrior/Fusion

Attribute: Wind

Level: 7

ATK: 2800

DEF: 2500

"Lightning Swordsman" + "Ice Swordsman"

* * *

_Anyway, that's all for now. So don't forget to keep reading, please R&R, and enjoy! The next chapter is already in the works!_


	4. Chapter 4: Reasons for our Actions

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's. I do however, own a few of the cards. Those will be marked with a (*). I don't own any of the songs either.**_

A/N: Well, here's chapter four. Enjoy. Also, thanks for the reviews.

_Theme Song: So Cold by Breaking Benjamin.

* * *

_

**Chapter 4: Reasons for our Actions.  
**

It had already been an hour since they left. They were deep in Satellite, close to where they had met the psychic duelist. They were running down the street, chasing after a masked person. They weren't sure who it was though. The person they were chasing after might as well have been a Dark Signer, they were probably walking into a trap, but this was their best lead, and they couldn't give it up like that.

The masked person ran into a dark alley, with Kira and Matsu quickly behind him.

He made one small mistake, however. He wasn't originally from Satellite, and although he's been here for over a year, he did not know the layout as well as Matsu or Kira. The alley he ran into was long, but it was also a dead end. He got up to the wall, passing his hand over it as if he was trying to figure out a way to get through it, instead of over it. He turned around, ready to go back and escape some other way, when he saw Matsu and Kira standing in the way. He considered his options. He could have dueled them, he could have summoned a monster and make his escape, or he could just give himself up.

"We aren't here to harm you! We just want to talk!" said Matsu.

"What do you wish to talk about?" responded the masked man. He was trying to buy some time and think up of a plan, and this seemed to work for now.

"Why did you save us?"

"It's because you are supposed to stay alive! Did you _want_ to die?"

"No!" this time, it was Kira who began to speak. "But that doesn't answer our question! Just because we did not want to end up like Rick, it doesn't mean that we wouldn't have stayed there and fought for our lives. And...you must have had a reason for helping us out. You could have easily run away and left us!"

"But I didn't!"

"That's right! Why didn't you? Unless, you knew something. Something about us...or something about that man. So which is it?!"

The man was unsure of what to say. He did not want to tell them the truth, but its not like he could escape. Then he had an idea. He could use one of the cards in his deck to escape. He drew a card and held it up high. "I activate-!" But his plan didn't work. He was knocked down by Kira and Matsu, who had already known that he had psychic powers. He was held down by the two of them, and thus, was unable to use the card and escape. He dropped the card, hoping that that was enough to get them to let go of him. Once again, it had no results.

"You idiots!" he said. "Why the hell did you come back?! You are going to ruin everything!"

"What are you talking about?" asked Matsu. He was curious as to why the masked man would say that.

"You guys don't know anything! You don't know what's really going on! You don't know what is happening!"

"Let me guess..." began Matsu. "It has to do with all of the disappearances. There's a war going on between Signers and Dark Signers, with the Dark Signers being the bad guys. Also, we are Servants, people who are supposed to help the Signers defeat the Dark Signers and win the war. Is that enough, or should I say more?"

The man was surprised to learn that they knew this much. "But...you don't know what you have to do...You don't know how you are supposed to help them."

The man was right. They didn't know that, but they did know something else. "That's true, we don't know how to help them out. However, we do know that we are supposed to be a team of four people. With Rick's loss, that leaves us three. We need to stick together. I mean, why did you try and go at this alone? You are with us, and we know this to be true. You seem to know more about this than us, and yet, you made sure to get us as far away from you and this place as possible."

"That's because none of us should be risking our lives like this. Not us, not the Signers! I thought, if I could defeat the Dark Signers myself, it would be easier for them and they wouldn't have to go through this torment. And you guys wouldn't have to risk your lives either."

Matsu and Kira let him go. They had enough answers. They wouldn't stop him anymore. If he wanted to join them, he could, but it was up to him. "You know, you would still be risking your life. And only a Signer can defeat a Dark Signer, a Servant would probably stand no chance. Besides, no matter what you did, we would all have gone up against the Dark Signers and their minions. Its not like you could stop us. Remember, wars are won when people work together." said Matsu.

The man knew that Matsu was right. He got up, dusting himself off. He removed the mask, and the cloak. It was then that they saw him for what he really was. A young man, with short silver hair. He was wearing a white shirt, and dark blue jeans, with brown mountain boots. "You guys are right. I guess that...maybe we should try going at this as a team. It's just, I didn't want to see anyone else losing their lives for no good reason."

"What do you mean?" asked Kira.

"You guys couldn't beat that man. He was a true Dark Signer. The guys that you two have dueled, they were just normal people that were under his control."

"That explains why they all had that glowing birthmark. Well, the same glowing birthmark anyway..."

"The name's Zeke, by the way." said the man, introducing himself.

Matsu and Kira also introduced themselves, happy that he had agreed to help them out. "So, what _are_ we supposed to do to help them?" asked Matsu.

"That's something that you have to figure out yourself." he said.

Matsu and Kira were feeling a bit disappointed. The last member of their group was finally with them, and he seemed to have all the answers. Well, all except the most important one. "Anyway..." said Kira, breaking the silence. "We should be heading back. They are probably worried about us. Or at least wondering where we went."

Then they felt the ground shake. They looked around and saw a glowing purple image up in the sky. This one was in the shape of a monkey. Zeke already knew what this meant. "Uh-oh. The Signers have already started dueling the Dark Signers. We need to hurry up and catch up to them. Before the others start their duel. Of course, this means that we'll have to separate."

They didn't want to admit it, but he was right. They did have to separate if they wanted to help out the others before they started their duel. Unfortunately, this would take a bit of time, because, as they turned around to leave, they found that their way out was blocked by another one of the Dark Signer's minions. This time, however, Zeke decided to duel the man.

"I'll accept your duel." said Zeke. They both raised up their Duel Disks, and a wall of flame surrounded them. His opponent, however, went first.

The Dark Signer drew a card. "I'll start. I'll summon Gladiator Beast Murmillo (800/400) in defense mode!" He placed the card on the disk and a small blue monster, which resembled a humanoid fish, appeared on the field, defending itself with it's arms. "Next, I'll place two cards face-down and end my turn." The two cards appeared on the field, behind Murmillo.

(4000-4000)

Now, it was Zeke's turn, and Matsu and Kira were curious about the type of deck that he used. He took a look at his hand, and the card that he drew. He had Ancient Gear Soldier, Negate Attack, Ancient Gear, Gear Town, Ancient Gear Knight, and Shining Eagle*.

"I'll start. I'll summon Ancient Gear Knight (1800/500) in attack mode!" A robotic monster appeared on the field, wielding a spear and a shield. "Next, I'll place one card face-down, and special summon Ancient Gear (100/800) in attack mode!" A face-down card appeared, followed by a small robotic monster that was very simple, and looked like a wind-up toy. "Now, Ancient Gear Knight, attack his monster!" The knight charged at the defensive monster, the spear going through it and shattering it. "I'll end my turn."

(4000-4000)

"Looks like you don't know anything about Gladiator monsters. At the end of the battle phase, I can send the destroyed monster back to my deck and special summon another one from my deck! So, I'll special summon my Gladiator Beast Secutor (400/300) in attack mode!" A small lizard monster appeared on the field. It was standing on two legs, and was wearing white and blue armor.

He drew a card as he started his turn. "I'll special summon Test Tiger (600/300) in defense mode!" A tiger covered in cloths appeared on the field. "He can be special summoned if I control a Gladiator monster. Next, I'll summon Gladiator Beast Laquari (1800/400) in attack mode!" A large, humanoid tiger appeared, surrounded by flames. "Now, I'll have my Secutor attack your Ancient Gear, and my Laquari will attack your Knight!" The lizard leaped at the small, toy monster and slashed at it, cutting it down. Then, Laquari threw a punch at the Knight. The Knight countered, blocking it with it's shield. A large explosion occurred, and both monsters were gone. "I'll activate their effects once more!"

"By sending my Secutor back to my deck, I can special summon _2_ Gladiator monsters. So, I'll summon Gladiator Beast Laquari (2100/400) in attack mode, and Gladiator Beast Hoplomus (700/2400) in defense mode!"

Laquari appeared once more on the field, this time, with more attack points. Meanwhile, Hoplomus, which was a large, humanoid rhino covered in white armor, appeared on the field, covering his face with his arms.

"That's not all! The effect of my Laquari allows me to also summon another Gladiator monster to the field. So, I'll use it to summon Gladiator Beast Dimacari (1600/1200) in attack mode!" A humanoid, purple bull appeared, wearing lots of armor, though much less than the other Gladiators. "I'll end my turn now."

(4000-3800)

_'The main key here...is that he'll just keep summoning those monsters. However, if he can't summon any more monsters, or can't destroy any of mine, he'll be left at a disadvantage...' _thought Zeke as he drew his next card. To his luck, he drew Pot of Greed. _'Didn't want to use it this early in the game, but I guess it's better late than never.'_

"I'll activate Pot of Greed!" He drew two cards: Spirit Barrier, and Double Summon. "I'll place one card face-down, and then I'll activate the field spell, Geartown! So, I'll summon my Ancient Gear Beast (2000/2000) in attack mode!" A face-down card appeared, followed by the appearance of a large field that resembled a small town made up mostly of machines and factories, and a mechanical wolf monster. Well, it resembled a wolf anyway. "Next, I'll activate Double Summon! So, I'll sacrifice my Beast to summon, Shining Eagle* (2200/1900) in attack mode!" Ancient Gear Beast disappeared in flash of light, and when the light was gone, a large, golden eagle was floating in its place. "Shining Eagle! Attack his Laquari!" The Eagle opened its mouth, releasing a powerful beam of light that struck Laquari, obliterating it in the process. "I'll end my turn."

(3900-3800)

His opponent drew a card, and Laquari's effect had been activated again. This time, a monster known as Gladiator Beast Samnite (1600/1200) appeared. It was a large, humanoid white tiger, wearing black and gold battle armor, holding a shield and a glowing dagger. It was on its knees, holding its shield up high.

"Now, I'll just place one card face-down, and switch my Dimacari to defense mode! I'll end my turn."

(3900-3800)

Zeke drew a card. He knew that he was up against too many monsters, and he couldn't take them all out at once. Unless...

_'That's it! All I need is one card. However, If I use it, I won't be able to use the one I really need.' _

He looked at the card he drew. It was Mystical Space Typhoon. He placed it facedown on the field, and ended his turn.

(3900-3800)

"You are giving up too easily." said his opponent.

He drew a card. "I'll summon my Gladiator Beast Bestiari (1500/800) in defense mode! That's all for now."

(3900-3800)

Zeke drew a card. It was Ancient Gear Drill. _'I'll save this for later.'_

He examined the cards he had on the field. He was sure that he could prevent Shining Eagle from getting destroyed, but he still had to find a way to get rid of all of those monsters on the field. If he could be lucky enough to draw the cards that he needed, then it would be easy to win the duel. Still, so much depended on the right cards, and the right timing.

He wanted to end the duel quickly, but every time he destroyed a monster, it would just special summon another in its place. Not only that, but he couldn't inflict battle damage, and there were too many monsters to destroy.

He decided to pass this turn.

(3900-3800)

His opponent drew a card.

"I'll send my Gladiator Beast Bestiari and my Gladiator Beast Dimacari back to my deck. Now, I can summon this!" A large humanoid bird appeared, dressed in green armor. "Gladiator Beast Gyzarus (2400/1500) in attack mode! Also, when he's summoned, I get to destroy two cards on the field. So, your monster and the card behind it are destroyed!"

The monster flapped his wings, causing a large gust of wind to push back and blow the two cards away. However, Shining Eagle stayed on the field. "What?! Its supposed to be destroyed!"

But it wasn't. Only one of the cards was destroyed, and it was his Spirit Barrier. "My monster's special ability prevents it from being destroyed so easily." explained Zeke.

"Attack his monster!" The two monsters fought, and Shining Eagle groaned, but it remained on the field. His opponent ended his turn with that.

(3900-3600)

Zeke drew a card, but was almost afraid to look at it. It was Giant Trunade. _'Perfect.'_

"I'll start by activating the spell card, Giant Trunade!" A very powerful gust of wind began to push the cards away, until one of his opponent's face-downs flipped itself up.

"I'll activate my trap! Disarm!"

Unfortunately for that guy, Zeke had a backup plan. One of his face-downs flipped face-up. It was Mystical Space Typhoon. The blue tornado tore out of the card, and ripped the trap up into pieces. All the spells and traps went back to their owner's hands. This also included Geartown, which caused the field to go back to normal.

"Next, I'll summon Ancient Gear Soldier (1300/1300) in defense mode. This way, I can activate Ancient Gear Drill. So, I can discard one card from my hand," He sent Geartown to the graveyard. "So I can take a spell or trap card from my deck and put it face-down. Downside is...I can't activate it until my next turn. I'll place one card face-down, and end my turn." Both cards appeared on the field. One of them was the Negate Attack that he had since the beginning of the duel.

(3900-3800)

His opponent chuckled. He thought about how much his opponent was struggling to survive, and how that monster that he had on his side of the field was his last chance of survival. "I'll place one card face-down, and activate the equip spell, Gladiator Beast's Battle Gladius. Now, my Gyzarus will gain 300 attack points! (2800/1500) Attack!" The man thought that he had won, but he made a fatal mistake. As the monster was about to hit, a spinning shield appeared in front of it, causing it to stop the attack.

"I'll activate Negate Attack. Your attack is canceled." said Zeke.

The man had focused so much on negating the opposing player's monster's effect, that he completely forgot about the spell and trap cards. Although he did not know it at the time, this was a large problem. He wanted to attack the Ancient Gear monster, but that would just cause him to lose life points in the next turn. "I'll place one card face-down and end my turn."

(3900-3800)

Zeke drew a card. It was a monster known as Roaring Lion*. It might have been good to summon it this turn, but he had a feeling that it would be best to wait. "You know..." began Zeke. "I've been trying to find a way to defeat those monsters of yours. I mean, every time one is destroyed, it summons another one to the field, making it impossible to inflict damage onto you. However, that only works if I attack you." The card that he had placed face-down due to Ancient Gear Drill's effect had turned itself face-up.

"I'll activate Dark Hole!" A large black hole appeared, sucking in all of the monsters except for Shining Eagle*. "Since my Shining Eagle* cannot be destroyed by Dark Hole, it is the only monster on the field. Attack!" The bird flew at the Dark Signer and hit him hard, knocking him back. " You know, the Ancient Gear Monsters only count as part of my deck. These winged beasts, and other beast-type monsters, they are part of my deck's true strength. Anyway, since you cannot special summon anymore of those Gladiators, I think I'll end my turn with that."

(1700-3800)

The man got back up and drew a card. He was angry at how easily his monsters were destroyed. He placed a card face-down and summoned a monster. "I summon Gladiator Beast Torax (1400/400) in attack mode!" The man thought it through a bit more this time. As soon as his opponent attacked, he would activate Defensive Tactics, stopping the attack, but still allowing him to use Torax's effect and summon a more powerful monster. There was no way he could lose. "I'll end my turn."

(1700-3800)

"My turn!" said Zeke, drawing another card. It was true, saving that monster was the best thing he could do after all. He checked the card he drew, which was Draining Shield. "I'll sacrifice my Shining Eagle* to summon Roaring Lion* (2500/1300) in attack mode!" Shining Eagle* disappeared in a burst of light, and a large and powerful lion took its place. It let out a loud and powerful roar, which caused Torax to go back to his owner's hand. "Did I forget to mention? When he is summoned, all other monsters on the field go back to their owner's hand!"

"What?!" The man was terrified. He was left with no defense.

"Attack!" The lion jumped and struck him with his mighty claws.

(0-3800)

The man began disappearing, and so did the wall of flame and the monsters. As Matsu, Kira, and Zeke enjoyed the victory, their happiness was put off for a moment when they heard the man speak. "Hahaha! You guys think that you won! Guess what, we don't give up! This will be the last victory that you receive, because next time, we're coming at you! Full force!" he said just before he disappeared.

They had to believe him, for they had no choice. And they knew that the Dark Signers wanted them gone. "So, let's hurry and go back." They returned to their Duel Runners, each one mounted theirs and turned it on. "Remember...Fight as hard as you can. This may be the last time that we see each other, so let's make our next battle count!" They all nodded, and then left, each in their own direction.

* * *

It had been about two hours already. Jack knew that one of the Signers was fighting, although he did not know who it was. He stopped for a moment, actually considering going over to help them out. "Hmm...I might as well forget it. I mean, its nothing they can't handle. Might as well continue on..."

He started again, only to be blocked by a man on a Duel Runner. "Who are you?!" he asked. The man took off his helmet, revealing himself to be Matsu. "There you are! Why the hell did you two go? We've been looking all over for you!"

"We had to go fight the Dark Signers. This way, it would be easier on you guys."

"Are you crazy?! You can't defeat them!"

But his warning fell on deaf ears. Matsu put on his helmet, and began driving away from Jack, but in the direction in which Jack was headed. Jack followed him, trying to stop him from making a mistake.

"Why are you doing this, Jack? Why are you trying to fight the Dark Signers? Besides the fact that its fate, I doubt that you have a reason for fighting."

This comment angered Jack. This guy didn't know anything about him, and yet he was making such judgments. "Watch it! I have my own reasons for fighting! Its not like you have anything!"

"I have my own reason to stay alive. You on the other hand, have never had a good reason to do anything. You've always been so self-centered, thinking only of yourself."

"That was the old Jack! I have a reason for fighting. I'm trying to save a girl. The same girl that saved me. What have you got that's so special?!"

Hidden by the helmet, a smiled appeared on Matsu's face. "I've got a friend. A friend with a promise. I promised her that I would get her out of the Facility and into Neo Domino. Where she can have a better life. That's why I fight."

Jack was surprised. That was why this man fought. They had similar reasons for fighting. They both wanted the person that they truly loved to be happy.

_'So that's how...' _thought Matsu. _'That's how I've got to help him. I'll show him.'_

He pressed a button on his Duel Runner, which released a black smoke and caused Jack's Duel Runner to turn off. "What the hell?!" He managed to stop safely, but when he looked around, Matsu was gone. There was no trace of him left. There was no trail, no way to know where he was going. Not only that, but he shorted out his Duel Runner, so he couldn't go after him, or the Dark Signer.

* * *

There was Yusei, face to face with Kira. "Kira...Where did you guys go? Why are you here?"

"I'm here because I want to talk to you. Why do you fight? What motivates you and leads you to fight against the Dark Signers?"

Yusei began to think about all that's happened to him. How he lost his parents, how he lost one of his closest friends. How he lost his friends in the fog caused by the Dark Signers, and how he lost Martha in that duel against Rudger. It angered him, yes, but it gave him a reason to fight. It convinced him to keep fighting, and to find a way to bring them back. He thought that if the Dark Signers were defeated, then the souls that were used as sacrifices would return to normal and be free. "I fight to help those I care about. I can't let the Dark Signers just do as they please and destroy everything. Still, why do you ask?"

"I just wanted to know. You see, I was only four years old when I lost my parents to a crime. They were killed, and I was left alone. But, I still kept fighting. I wanted to help others, but I never could. That didn't stop me from trying though. I tried to protect others, and help them out when they needed it. All because I wanted to make sure that no one went through the same thing that I went through. No one should have to suffer, especially when they're all alone. Anyway, thanks. I already got all the information that I needed." he said. Like Matsu, Kira pushed a button on his Duel Runner. This released a smokescreen, and after a few minutes, the smoke was gone, along with Kira.

Yusei looked around. "What was that about?" said Trudge. "I don't know..." It was incredibly strange. The way things were going...They find two people who are revealed to be Servants. Then, those two leave on their own, leaving behind no trail or reason for doing so. It made some of them think that the Servants might not be on their side. That was, until now. One of them shows up, just to talk to him, and then he just disappeared. He couldn't understand it, but had a feeling that he would soon. Instead of chasing after him, he decided to keep watch over Ruka as she finished her duel. _'I don't know what it is you're planning, but whatever it is, I guess I'll just have to trust you...' _thought Yusei.

* * *

Meanwhile, Mina and Aki were far away from the others, on their way to Aki's duel. Along the way, the car stopped, and refused to continue working. "What could be wrong with this thing?" asked Mina. Aki, of course didn't answer. She didn't know anything about cars, so there was nothing that she could do. While Mina kept talking to herself, since Aki wasn't listening, Aki sighed, looking around the area. After a few minutes, she heard a strange noise. It sounded like a low, screeching sound. As she looked at the car, she noticed that some of the technology on it was also acting weird. _'Could that noise be the cause of the car's problem?' _she thought.

She got out of the car, looking around for the source of the noise. With every step that she took, the volume of the noise changed. The closer she was to the car, the lower the sound. The farther away she was from the car, the louder the noise became. She was only a few feet away from the car, but the sound was very loud. Then, to her surprise, she found out where it was coming from. Standing before her, was Zeke, without his disguise on. He was holding something in his hand. From her point of view, it was hard to tell what it was, but she knew that it was the cause of the car's malfunction.

"What are you doing?" she asked. She was annoyed by what Zeke was doing. She had a hard enough time trusting him in the first place, so this wasn't helping his chances.

"I'm trying to stall you. You see, I'm going to fight against the Dark Signer, so I need to make sure that you don't get there."

He was back to where he originally was with her. She did not trust him at all. "What are you talking about? Only a Signer can defeat a Dark Signer. If you prevent me from getting to my opponent, then that just means that you're on their side."

"I'm just trying to help the Signers. If I can defeat a Dark Signer, that just means that it's one less person that will risk their life. If it turns out that the person I help out is you, then, I guess that it was part of fate's plan after all." he said. "Besides, I know you. You have gone through enough in your life. Becoming a pawn in fate's twisted plan was one of the worst things that could have happened to you."

"You can't help me. Not you, or anyone else." she told him. "You do not know me at all. And I've gone through worse things than having to learn that I was part of some five thousand year old battle."

"Yes, yes, you have gone through worse things. But there are things that are even more worse than what happened to you. I just hope that you don't ever experience them first hand. I have, and trust me, a life like yours would be much better than the one I have now."

"You wouldn't want my life. I have never been able to have an actual family. My parents just called me a monster and stayed as far away from me as possible. Then, they shipped me off to some school where I couldn't bother them. And they were happy about it! Even worse, I couldn't make any friends, since everyone feared my powers..."

"Yeah...I guess that would be bad, but...So would having friends that lie to you. Parents who take care of you, but have never even said a word to you. So would having a found a home where there are others like you, but they don't care about you all. And the one man who pretends to care about the things you say and do, tells you the truth. He tells you how you are just a pawn. How he's been using you, and trying to get you to further his own evil plans. Then he tells you how he was behind most of your problems. How he stages accidents and events to make you feel pain, and then he makes you hold it up inside until he has a use for it!"

Aki was shocked. _'I-is that...Is that what happened to him? Is that why he doesn't want me with Arcadia?' _she thought. She wondered if he was speaking the truth, and as much as she would have liked to yell at him and call him a liar, she couldn't The emotion in his voice, and the way that he looked at her when he spoke about this, it was impossible for him to have acted that way.

"That was why I left. My whole life had been toyed with, and planned. That's why I escaped. That's why I faked my death and ran away from Arcadia. And...it is for that same reason why Divine cares so much about you. He had someone with powers that were as strong as yours, and that someone slipped right out of his hands. That's why, when I found out I was a Servant, being another pawn in the hands of someone I could not defeat, I decided to change the plan. This way, I could sacrifice myself for all of those that fate decided to involve in its twisted plan. If I could stop it, I could help the others."

"You don't have to do that! Let us fight! We are the ones who have to do so!"

"I'll only believe that when I see it. If you really want to stop me, then I'll give you only one chance. I'm going ahead, and if I can't defeat the Dark Signer that's waiting for you, then I'll show you the lesson that I learned."

"What do you mean, 'lesson'?"

"You see, after going through that, I learned a very valuable lesson, but I can't tell you yet. It is something that you must see for yourself. Goodbye!"

"Wait!" Once again, it was too late. She could not do anything as a large tornado quickly passed through, leaving her alone. She looked around, and saw no sign of Zeke. She also noticed something important. There was no more noise. Zeke was gone, and that meant that the car would work again. She ran back, just as Mina was able to turn it back on. "Where were you?" asked Mina. "Nowhere. Just...checking something." Mina wanted to ask more, but decided to leave her alone. She did not want to force Aki to speak if she didn't want to. As much as Aki wanted Mina to hurry up, she kept quiet, the words that Zeke spoke were still ringing in her head.

**End of Chapter 4.

* * *

**

_The Servants are heading into their last duel against the Dark Signers. Everyone is saying how only a Signer can defeat a Dark Signer in a duel, but that won't stop them. They are determined to prove to everyone how they can win. Not only that, but Matsu, Kira, and Zeke will no longer hold back. The Dark Signers have the Earthbound Immortals, but the Servants have a few tricks up their sleeve. Witness the true power of Matsu, Kira, and Zeke in the next chapter. The Paths of Destiny! is up next.

* * *

_

A/N: This chapter took me bit longer to write, but it was done. It's a bit shorter, but that's okay. Anyway, I've already begun the last chapter. Be on the lookout for chapter five. After all, chapter five is the very end of this sequel. Then, I shall make the actual story. Remember, this story is just to introduce the characters. Please R&R, and I hope that you've enjoyed this chapter. Also, I want you guys to know that I'll be accepting a couple of OC's for the other story, so start making them up now. Now, It's time for the card album. If you didn't like the duel very much, then sorry, but using Gladiator monsters is very complicated.

* * *

**----CARD ALBUM----**

Shining Eagle - Monster Card

Type: Winged Beast

Attribute: Wind

Level: 6

ATK: 2200

DEF: 1900

Effect: This card cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects. (Only way to destroy it is to take control and sacrifice it. Or, you can use a card like _Gladiator Beast War Chariot, _which negates the monster's effect and destroys it. Basically, if its effect is negated, it can be destroyed through other methods.)

* * *

Roaring Lion - Monster Card

Type: Beast

Attribute: Earth

Level: 6

ATK: 2500

DEF: 1300

Effect: When this card is normal summoned, all other monsters on the field are returned to their owner's hand. If this card is flip-summoned, or special summoned, its effect is negated and it is treated as a normal monster.


	5. Chapter 5: Paths of Destiny

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's. I do however, own a few of the cards. Those will be marked with a (*). I don't own any of the songs either.**_

A/N: To myself: Please remember to back up your work. You never know when those damn crashes will hit you...

To the rest of my readers: Yeah, it took me months to get my computer fixed. I lost the file containing this chapter, which was almost done, and had to start over. Anyways, I'm working on this chapter in my free time, and am hoping it'll come out great. Thanks to those who waited patiently for this chapter. It is very much appreciated.

_Theme Song: So Cold by Breaking Benjamin._

_

* * *

_

**Chapter 5: The Paths of Destiny!**

The area was quiet and cold, the wind blowing softly. Kira stood there, next to his Duel Runner. He looked down the large crater that covered a large part of B.A.D territory. He was silent for a moment, feeling a bit nervous. He gulped, and then took a deep breath. "...This has to be done...This is what I'm supposed to do. I must save them, even if it means I'll die in the process. Get ready Rudger, for I'm coming for you!" he said, determined and motivated to win. He put his deck in his Duel Disk and ran down the stairway, ready to face Rudger.

Rudger was at the bottom of the crater, looking at the machine. "Perfect...The most wonderful device ever created... I'm so glad that I-" He looked up, as if surprised by something. From where he stood, nothing could be seen. "And to think...It seems the Servants really are of some importance in this whole war...I honestly thought that my birthmark wouldn't react to their presence, but it seems I was wrong." Grabbing his Duel Disk, he started up the stairs. "It seems I'm in for quite an interesting fight..."

Kira stopped halfway down, trying to catch his breath. Once he did, he looked around, and noticed that the stairs were on the other side of the crater. The only way to get there? By crossing an old bridge that looked dangerous to walk over. Not just that, but the fall didn't seem very good either. "Glad to see you here..." said a voice from afar. Kira looked up to see Rudger standing on the other side of the bridge. "I've been wanting to duel you for quite a while. You've been quite a nuisance, and its time I put a stop to you." Kira chuckled. "Funny, I was thinking the same thing." His duel disk activated as he said this. "Ready?"

"Ready!"

Rudger's Duel Disk activated, and the battle began. "I think I'll start. By the way, I don't think we've been properly introduced. The name is Rudger Goodwin. And yours?"

"The name is Kira. Kira Takamori." he replied, drawing his six cards.

"Very nice. This way, I'll have the satisfaction of knowing who I have defeated. Anyways, to start off, I'll place two cards face-down on the field." The holograms of two face-down cards appeared before him. "Next, I'll activate the field spell, Spider Web!" The machine underneath them activated, and many bright colors began to swirl around them. From the blinding light came the spider web, covering the walls of the crater. "Anyways, that's it for me. Your turn."

(4000-4000)

Kira drew his card, and looked at his hand. He held Goblin Elite Attack Force, Double Coston, Cyber Kyrin, Double Summon, Opticlops, and Guard Penalty. _'Hmm...Not much I can do. I know I can attack, but its those face-down cards that he's got. Who knows what they can do! Anyways, I've got to do something while I've still got a chance.'_

"I'll start by placing two cards face-down." Guard Penalty and Double Summon appeared on the field, their backs to both players. "Next, I'll summon Goblin Elite Attack Force (2200/1500) in attack mode!" The small gang of goblins appeared on the field, each one chuckling and waiting to attack. "Attack him directly!" The goblins charged at Rudger, hiting him with their clubs before they returned to their side of the field and took a defensive stance. "Due to their effect, they are switched to defense mode until the end of my next turn."

Rudger laughed as one of his traps revealed itself. "I activate the trap card, Wolf in Sheep's Clothing! This card allows me to special summon a level one monster from my hand, then summon another one with the same name from my deck. So, I'm using it to special summon two Ground Spiders (0/0) in defense mode!"

_'Damn it...So that's why he didn't summon any monsters...Well, I don't know what he's up to, but I have to be prepared.' _he thought. "Fine then...That'll be it for this turn."

(4000-1800)

Rudger chuckled, drawing his next card. "First, I'm activating my face-down card, Destiny Activator!" The face-down card revealed itself, and a green hand holding a detonator appeared on the field. "With this, I get to take the top card from my deck and send it to the graveyard." He showed it to Kira, letting him see that it was a monster card. "Now, whenever you draw a card that is the same type as the one I just discarded, you'll lose half your life points. Next up, I'm summoning the Dark Tuner, Spider Cocoon (0/0) in attack mode." One of the Ground Spiders disappeared, and in its place, was a purple spider monster that seemed twice as big as the Ground Spider. "Before I do anything else, I'm using my Ground Spider's special effect, and raise my Spider Cocoon's level from 5, to 7! Now I'll tune my Spider Cocoon with my Ground Spider!"

_"When darkness overlaps with darkness, the doors of the underworld will open to a world without light! Dark Synchro! Come forth, Underground Arachnid!"_

A large monster came forth from the darkness. Its appearance was pretty much that of a woman with a spider's body. Even so, it looked horrible, and Kira knew that this meant trouble.

"Underground Arachnid (2400/1200), use your special ability and capture his monster!" Kira looked with shock as he saw the large spider monster spit out a web and take out his monster, dragging it to its side of the field. He shook his head, and prepared to brace for the impact. "Now, attack him directly!" Once again, the monster spit out a web, but this time, it hit Kira, and it hit him hard, knocking him back a couple of feet.

Kira got up as quickly as he could, and paid little attention to the pain. Unfortunately for Rudger, Kira knew more about his deck than he let on. "Now my Spider Web field spell will activate, and it will switch my monster to defense mode!" This is where Kira got a lucky break. This is where Rudger finally noticed that Kira had activated a quick-play spell known as Guard Penalty.

Kira chuckled, glad to see that things worked out well. "I knew what this field spell does. Which is why I didn't activate Guard Penalty when my monster was switched to defense mode. Thanks to this card, when your Arachnid was switched to defense mode, I was able to draw a card."

The smirk on Rudger's face had disappeared as he placed a card face-down and ended his turn. He was starting to find Kira a bigger annoyance than he thought.

(1600-1800)

Kira drew his next card, hoping it would help him. He looked at it. _'Negate Attack...Good. I can use this...' _

"I'm going to summon Double Coston (1750/1650) in defense mode! Next, I'm activating the spell card, Double Summon, so I can summon Opticlops (1800/1700) in defense mode!" Both monsters appeared on the field. One looked like a horned cyclops with a nasty personality. The other looked like two black ghouls that were attached to each other by their tails. "I'll place one card face-down and end my turn."

Things were bad. As much as Kira wanted to attack and get rid of that monster, he was worried about the consequences. He knew that whatever Rudger had, it wasn't pretty and he had to mount up some defenses before things went from bad to worse.

(1600-1800)

Due to him having the same amount of life points as in the previous turn, Rudger could tell that Kira hadn't drawn a monster. It didn't matter to him that much though. After seeing the card he drew, he already guaranteed his win.

"I'm summoning another Dark Spider (0/0) in attack mode!" Once again, a Dark Spider materialized on the field. Now, forgive me for copying you, but I'll be doing the same. I'm activating the spell card, Double Summon! Now I can sacrifice my monsters to summon the mighty, Earthbound Immortal Uru (3000/3000) in attack mode!" The monsters on his side of the field all disappeared, and high on the walls of the crater, was a large spider-like monster, screeching as it looked down at the two duelists.

Kira was afraid now...He could feel the power of the Earthbound Immortal, and it was a terrifying one. He tried to gather his strength, but he couldn't stop shaking.

"Now. Uru, attack his Opticlops!" The large monster spit out a powerful web, only to have it blocked by a large shield that appeared between them.

"I...won't let you...My trap card, Negate Attack, will prevent you from destroying my monsters for this turn..." said Kira, still shaken from the power of the Immortal.

"Very well," replied Rudger. "I see that you've begun to fully grasp the terror that comes from these Gods. You did well in extending your measly existence for one more turn. I'll place two cards face-down and end my turn."

(1600-1800)

Kira took a deep breath. He drew his next card, staring at it for a moment. Finally, he snapped out of his trance and continued on with his turn. He took a quick look at his hand, and then at the field. A smile appeared on his face. He was beginning to get his confidence back. With a determined look, he began his assault. "I'll sacrifice my Opticlops and my Double Coston!" The two monsters on his side of the field shattered, and behind Kira rose a large monster. It was about as large as Earthbound Immortal, with a black body and an aura of darkness surrounding it. It spread its wings, and a terrible roar was heard. It had long, sharp claws, and large curved horns. It had a skull-like body, yet it seemed to be alive.

"Fear the power of my deck's most powerful monster, Ryu-Skull Archfiend*!" (4700/3800)

"Prepare to lose! My monster can easily defeat your Earthbound Immortal!" he said, happy he was on the verge of victory.

"True." stated Rudger. "That monster is indeed more powerful than mine, but you see, mine cannot be selected as an attack target!" he said, laughing.

"If I can't attack _it_, then that only leaves you! Now, get ready. To begin with, I must mention that in order for my monster to attack, I have to remove two Dark attribute monsters from my graveyard. So, by removing my Opticlops and Double Coston, I can attack. Now my Archfiend, attack him directly!" The monster let loose a earth-shattering roar, causing the ground to tremble. Then, a large Judgeman appeared between the monster and Rudger, holding two different axes, one in each hand.

"I'm activating my trap card, Half or Nothing! Now, you have to make a choice. Either stop your attack now, or continue it at the cost of halving your monster's attack points!"

Kira studied the choices carefully, but he was sure that he knew what to do. After all, even he knew that if he halved his monster's attack points, it would still be enough to defeat Rudger. Just as he was about to answer, he heard some hurried footsteps. He turned around, and saw Yusei standing behind him. "What are you doing here, Kira?"

"I'm here, to help you guys. I can't let you guys fight the Dark Signers...You shouldn't have to go through that!" replied Kira.

"That's not true! Its our destiny! Its you who shouldn't be fighting! Just stop this now!"

"I'm planning on it...I've heard your side of the story, Yusei. I know why you fight. To be honest, my reasons are similar to yours. I know how you feel. That's why I can't let you go through with this! I'll defeat Rudger, and put an end to this. You and the others won't have to fight...You won't have to risk your lives like this!"

"But..."

"Just shut it!" he yelled out. "You won't stop me from doing what I have to do! Now, I believe its still my turn! I'll halve my monster's attack points! (2350/3800) Now, attack him directly!" The fiend roared again, and once again, a trap card revealed itself.

"I was hoping you would...I'm activating the trap card, Roar of the Earthbound! Thanks to this, if you attack with a monster that has attack points lower than that of my Earthbound, it will be destroyed, and you'll take damage equal to half it's attack points!"

The Immortal spit out a web, and attacked the Archfiend. The blow shattered it in pieces, and continued on to knock Kira onto his back.

Kira stood up. True, it was hard. True, he was in a lot of pain. Still, he wouldn't stop. Panting heavily, he continued on with his turn.

(425-1800)

"I'll activate my Archfiend's special ability! Once he's destroyed, I can remove him from play to special summon a monster from my graveyard!" Once again, the small gang of goblins appeared on his side of the field, taking a defensive stance. "And I can also draw a card from my deck. I'll end my turn with that." he said, drawing a card. He took a quick look at it, and looked at his opponent. He could tell that this next turn might be his last...

(425-1800)

Rudger laughed. "I see... You just won't give up, huh? Well, its too bad you have run out of options. You played well, but in the end, you were just out of your league. Now, prepare to join all the other victims of this fog in the afterlife!"

"Yeah, right! I still have one monster on my side of the field. As long as he's around, you can't do anything!"

"Don't get so sure of yourself, little Servant. You see, my monster can easily bypass your defenses and just attack you directly!"

Kira looked at the Immortal as the attack headed towards him. It hit him hard. Very hard. It knocked him off his feet, and his playing cards flew off into the air.

(0-1800)

All the monsters disappeared. The web covering the area went with them too. The area went back to being a dark and desolate place. Rudger stood in the same spot as before, watching in total satisfaction as Kira lied down in defeat.

Yusei ran towards him, trying to help him up. "No thanks..." he said. "I lost...I can see that I really was useless. I thought I could save you guys...I thought I could stop him myself... I see now that I was in over my head. Still, I tried. I did my best... I guess its up to you guys, the Signers, to save everyone else."

"Damn it...I told you not to do this! Why didn't you listen?" asked Yusei.

"Hm...You are destined to fight the Dark Signers and save the world. I guess...that this is my destiny. To fight for the lives of others in an impossible battle...Kind of like you..." Those were his last words as his body disappeared. Yusei punched the ground in anger. "Rudger, you won't get away with this. You are going to pay. Pay for all those innocent people who lost their lives. Pay for those who sacrificed themselves trying to stop you. Pay for those who are fighting now to save the world."

"Really?" replied Rudger. "Then let's duel. Let's see if you can back up your words..."

"You got it!" said Yusei. He was determined to win this duel, no matter what. The twins stood behind him, along with Trudge, and watched the duel, having arrived only moments after it had begun. Through it all, no one noticed one small thing. Right next to Yusei, in the spot where Kira was lying, was a card. It was the spell card he had drawn due to the Archfiend's effect. It was Gift of the Martyr...

* * *

"Why are you here?" asked Carly. "A Servant can't defeat me, and you are not my opponent. My opponent is Jack, so I suggest you leave while you still can."

"Guess what, then?" he said, putting on his Duel Disk as he stepped off his Duel Runner. "There's been a change in plans. I'm your opponent now!"

"This is ridiculous..." she said, chuckling. "Still, if you wish to die, then go ahead. I'll gladly prepare your funeral."

"Alright then! Let's duel!"

A wall of black flames appeared and surrounded them, their Duel Disks activated, and the duel commenced. Carly took the first turn, drawing her cards the fastest.

"I see that you are a very interesting man, Matsu" she said with a chuckle.

"I hadn't told you my name yet..."

"I know. But you see, these cards are different from others. They allow me to see the future, past, and present. With this deck, I can not only see your past, but your future as well. And let me just tell you...Your future isn't very bright!"

"Yeah, right! As if I'd believe that! Just hurry up and make your move!"

"Very well." she replied. "As you wish...I'll start by summoning Fortune Fairy Hu (0/0) in attack mode!" A small fairy, dressed in green robes and holding a small green staff appeared on the field. "Next, I'll activate the quick-play spell, Unacceptable Results! This allows me to special summon another 'Fortune Fairy' from my hand! I'm summoning Fortune Fairy Chee (0/0) in attack mode!" Another small fairy, this one dressed in orange robes, appeared on the field.

_'Damn it...What is she planning? At first I thought she was just trying to mount her defenses, but this is the second monster she's summoned in attack mode! There must be more to her plan...'_ he thought.

"Now, I'm activating the spell card, Luck Loan! With this, I can select one 'Fortune Fairy' from my hand, and then special summon another 'Fortune Fairy' from my hand as long as it's level is lower! So, I'll be summoning Fortune Fairy Hikari (0/0) in attack mode!" With a chuckle, she activated another spell card from her hand. " I'm activating the continuous spell, Miracle Stone! Thanks to this, all 'Fortune Fairy' monsters on my side of the field gain 1000 attack points for each 'Fortune Fairy' on my side of the field!" All three monsters, Hikari (3000/0), Hu (3000/0) and Chee (3000/0), grew in size as their attack points went up by unbelievable results.

"Damn it..." he said under his breath. _'So...That was her plan. From the looks of it, I'm in a real pinch here. I doubt it'll be easy to take down those three...'_

"However, I can't attack during the turn in which this card was activated, so I'll end my turn here. Your move..." Her devious smile kept its place on her face as she awaited his next move.

(4000-4000)

"Alright." He drew his card and looked at his hand. He had Lord of D., Drill Dragon* (x2), Flute of Summoning Dragon, Dragon's Mirror, and Burst Breath. _'Good... I can make this work...'_

"I'll start off by summoning Lord of D. (1200/1100) in defense mode!" A small man in dark robes, with a dragon skull on his head, appeared on Matsu's side of the field. "You aren't the only one who can mount a powerful formation. I'm activating the spell card, Flute of Summoning Dragon!" The small man grabbed a golden flute that materialized from the field and played it. Suddenly, two dragons with drills located on many parts of their body appeared on the field, each one taking a defensive stand.

"So, if Lord of D. is on the field, I can use this card and special summon two dragon-type monsters to the field. As you can see, my Drill Dragons* (1800/0) appeared in order to shield me from your attacks. I doubt that you could make any move towards my life points, but I'd like to see you try. I'll place one card face-down and end my turn." he said, his Burst Breath appearing face-down on the field.

(4000-4000)

"Hmph. Don't get cocky yet..." She drew a card, smiling as she looked at it. "The cards are telling me a lot about you, Matsuda Hideyoshi."

"From the looks of it, it seems all they can do is tell you my name!" he replied.

"Remember, to do something right, you must go step-by-step. Now, I'll start by activating the spell card, Pot of Greed! This allows me to draw two cards. Next, I'll activate the field spell, Future Vision!" Her plan had begun. The field changed into that of a crystal sanctuary, filled with darkness. From the looks of it, it seemed as if they were in space. "Next, I'll summon Fortune Lady Light (?/?) in attack mode!" The monster appeared on the field. It seemed to be a sorceress, that was completely dressed in yellow/gold robes. In an instant, it was sucked into the floor and disappeared from the field.

"What the hell was that?" asked Matsu, surprised to see such a thing happen.

"When a monster is normal summoned while Future Vision is on the field, it gets sent into the future. One turn into the future, to be exact. Next, due to Light being removed from the field due to a card effect, I can special summon a 'Fortune Lady' monster from my deck to the field! Come on out, Fortune Lady Fire (?/?) in attack mode! Her effect allows her to gain a level every turn, and her attack and defense points become equal to her level x200!" Another sorceress appeared on the field, this one dressed in a dark red color. Fortune Lady Fire (200/200) seemed to gain her strength from the amount of time she is on the field. At least, that's what Matsu was able to gather.

"Thanks to her effect, I'm able to destroy one of your monsters if she's special summoned through the effect of another 'Fortune Lady' monster, and you'll lose life points equal to the destroyed monster's attack points! So, I'll be getting rid of that annoying dragon of yours!"

The sorceress summoned a large fireball and threw it at one of Matsu's Drill Dragons*. It exploded, and the whole field was covered in a thick smoke. Once it dispersed, Drill Dragon* was still standing.

"How can this be?"

Matsu laughed. "Simple. As long as Lord of D. is on the field, dragon-type monsters are immune to card effects!"

Carly growled. "Fine. Then I'll get rid of him instead!" The previous scene repeated itself, only this time, Lord of D. was gone from the field. Matsu felt a sharp pain pass through his body, but he remained standing as if nothing had happened.

(2800-4000)

"Now that he's gone, my monsters will tear through you!" The fairies attacked, and from the resulting explosion came the destruction of both Drill Dragon* and all of the monsters on Carly's side of the field were destroyed. "What happened?" she asked, but her answer came quickly enough as she looked at the activated trap card.

"I activated my trap card, Burst Breath. Thanks to this, I can destroy one dragon-type monster on my side of the field. In turn, every other monster on the field with defense points lower than the destroyed monster's attack points are destroyed! True, it means that my monsters are gone, but the way I see it, you have no more moves, and no more cards on your side of the field." he said confidently.

"Damn it...Fine. I'll end my turn!"

(2800-4000)

"That's the way I like it." stated Matsu. "My turn!"

"Stop!" said a familiar voice from behind. Matsu turned around, and saw Jack arriving on the scene. "I'm too late." he said. "Matsu, why the hell are you doing this? I told you it was dangerous! You should be letting _me_ fight!"

"I know, but this is something that had to be done! I know of your feelings for her, which is why I'm doing this. I know how it feels to fight for someone you care about, and I know how hard it'd be to lose that person because of something you did. That's why... That's why _I'm_ fighting her! This way, you won't have to go through the same pain I went through!"

Jack looked at him, concerned. "Matsu..."

"Anyways, it doesn't matter... I believe its my turn now!" He looked at his hand. He only held Dragon's Mirror and Thunder Dragon. _'Thunder Dragon...Its a level 5 monster, so I can't summon it. Even if I could, it'd be removed from play until my next turn...Still, his effect isn't half bad. At least I'd have more monsters in my hand.'_

"I'll activate the effect of the Thunder Dragon that's in my hand! By sending it to the graveyard, I'm allowed to add two of them from my deck to my hand. Next, I'll place one card face-down and end my turn." He looked at his field as he finished with his turn. _'In the end, all I could do was place my Dragon's Mirror on the field.'_

(2800-4000)

Fortune Lady Light (400/400) reappeared on the field as Carly began her turn. "Hm...The cards are saying interesting things about, Matsuda. Tell me, is it true what they say?" The field changed for a moment, showing images of a girl being taken away by Security. "So...This is the girl? Now, why is she being taken away, I wonder. No worries, I'm sure that the cards will tell me soon enough." The images disappeared and the field returned to normal. Jack watched the duel unfold, interested in what had happened between the girl in the image and Matsu.

"Now, I really should continue on with my turn. Now that my Fortune Lady Light is back, I can attack you directly!" The sorceress hit Matsu with a powerful ray of light, pushing him back a couple of feet. He kept trying to fight the pain. It wasn't going to knock him down. He _couldn't_ let it knock him down...

"Now, I'll sacrifice my Light to summon my Fortune Lady Earth (?/?) in attack mode!" The weak sorceress disappeared, instead replaced by a much stronger one, which was dressed in brown robes. "My Fortune Lady Earth is a level six monster, and through her effect, she gains attack and defense point equal to its level x400! Now, Field Vision's effect activates, and my Fortune Lady Earth (2400/2400) is sent to my next turn. That's it for now. Your move."

(2400-4000)

_'Damn it! I haven't done any damage to her at all! And if I don't do something now, I'll lose! That monster of her's already has enough points to finish me off with its next hit. I have to do something quick...'_

He looked at the card he drew. "I activate Jar of Greed! This allows me to draw two cards." He drew twice more, relying a lot on luck for his next move. _'Perfect...Nightmare's Steelcage and Draining Shield! I can definitely turn things around with this!'_

"I'll activate the spell card, Nightmare's Steelcage! Thanks to this, you won't be able to attack for your next two turns! Now, I'll place one card face-down and end my turn." The large cage materialized around Carly and trapped her and her monsters on the inside. Matsu had set up a good defense. He stopped his opponent from attacking, and if his opponent found a way around that, his Draining Shield would be there to cover him. Either way, he ensured that he would survive her next turn.

(2400-4000)

"I see...Just like always, you try to escape your fate. And just like always, your fate will catch up to you. I mean, that's why that girl was caught by Security, wasn't it? It was because you kept running from your fate, and ended up getting her dragged into your problems as well. Still, that's something you know very well, isn't it? After all, you were there the day it happened."

"Just shut it and continue on with your turn!" yelled Matsu.

"So impatient. You just keep running away from your past. Well, I'll make sure you get the message soon. You can't run from destiny! Now that my Fortune Lady Earth (2800/2800) has returned, she gains a level, and her attack points go up." The sorceress appeared on the field once more, much stronger than before. "Now, her effect activates. Every time she gains a level, you lose 400 life points!"

Fortune Lady Earth raised her staff, and rocks flew up from the ground and hit Matsu.

(2000-4000)

He fell down with this hit. He lied down on the floor, feeling weak. No matter how much he wanted to deny it, the attacks were getting to him. The past was getting to him. _She_ was getting to him. The pain from his wounds had kicked in, and it was coming full force.

"Damn it, Matsu! Get up! I thought you were fighting, not quitting! You told me that I was foolish! You said I had no reason to fight! Now, look at yourself! Lying down on the ground like a measly bug! Get up and prove me wrong! Get up and defeat her! Because, if you can't do it, then you don't deserve to save your friend!"

"I get it, already!" yelled out Matsu. "You are right, okay? But it doesn't matter! I failed with her, and I failed with this. I can't save anyone if my life depended on it. Not even now, when it really does. It was my fault that she's in the Facility! Its all because of my mistakes! I don't deserve to rescue her... She might be better off without me!"

"You really believe that? Then fine. Go ahead and give up. What good is a loss if its in vain? You wanted to save us from facing the Dark Signers, yet you can't even save yourself! Stay down if you wish, and I'll handle this!" said Jack.

Matsu got up, blood dripping from his wounds. "If it'll make you shut up...Then I'll keep fighting."

"Glad to see you are back in the fight. I'll summon Fortune Lady Water (?/?) in attack mode. As you should already know, her attack and defense points are determined by her level x300. So, now my Fortune Lady Water (1200/1200) is removed from the field due to Future Vision's effect, and I'll end my turn with that." said Carly as the sorceress dressed in blue robes disappeared from the field.

(2000-4000)

Matsu drew his next card. Blood was dripping onto his deck, but he ignored it. _'Masked Dragon...I'd summon him, but then he'd get sent to my next turn...Wait a minute!'_ Matsu's eyes widened as he stumbled upon an important realization. _'Could it be? Does the field only remove monsters when they are Normal Summoned? Let's give this a try...'_

"I'll set one monster on the field, and end my turn." The card appeared on the field, showing its back to both players. However, the card remained there. _'Yes! It is unaffected by the field spell!' _Now, his confidence was rising. He was starting to see a way to win. .

(1600-4000)

Once again, Fortune Lady Water (1500/1500) made her appearance onto the field, slightly stronger than before. "You've been doing a very good job at staying alive so far, but its not going to last. I'll sacrifice my Fortune Lady Water to summon Fortune Lady Dark (?/?) in attack mode! Its effect is similar to that of Fortune Lady Earth, so my Fortune Lady Dark's (2000/2000) attack and defense points aren't that different from Fortune Lady Earth (3200/3200). Sadly, Future Vision's effect activates, and she gets sent into the future. You should get ready, since this next turn shall be your last!" she said, another sorceress disappearing from the field as she did.

Once again, Earth's effect was activated, and Matsu was once again pelted by a bunch of rocks. Still, he was back to his old self again. He refused to be knocked down, and continued on.

(1600-4000)

The Nightmare's Steelcage had disappeared. Now, Matsu had to rely on only one thing. His trap card was all that was left standing between him and certain defeat. He drew his next card. He had a ray of hope left... He had drawn Graceful Charity. "I activate the spell card, Graceful Charity. Now, I can draw three cards, as long as I discard two." He drew three more cards, discarding a Thunder Dragon and a Drill Dragon* he had just drawn. Now, he just held a Thunder Dragon, Super Rejuvenation, and Dragon's Gunfire.

"I flip-summon Masked Dragon (1400/1100) in defense mode! Next, I'm activating the spell card, Dragon's Gunfire! Thanks to this, I can reduce your life points by 800 points if I have a dragon-type monster on my side of the field." His Masked Dragon raised its head up high and released a powerful fireball that hit Carly dead on. However, it seems as if the Dark Signers were much tougher than one originally thought, since she seemed to be unaffected by it, yet her clothes were singed by the flames.

(1600-3200)

"Next, I'm activating the spell card, Dragon's Mirror! With this, I can remove from play the monsters needed for a fusion summon, and fusion summon a monster! So, I'll be removing from play the three Drill Dragon* in my graveyard, so I can summon my most powerful monster. Spike Dragon* (3900/3000) in attack mode!" From the ground behind Matsu flew out a large dragon. Its skin was a light blue color, its wings were large, and it had massive spikes running down its head, through its back and to its tail. Its claws were massive and could pretty much crush anything in its path. It roared, causing powerful earthquakes to occur.

"Attack her Fortune Lady Earth!" The mighty dragon roared, and as hard as the sorceress tried to prevent her destruction, it was all to no avail. The sorceress was destroyed, and Carly was now down to only one monster. "Now, before I finish, I'll activate the quick-play spell, Super Rejuvenation! Thanks to this, I'm allowed to draw one card for each dragon-type monster sent to my graveyard from my hand in this turn. Now, it your turn." he said, drawing two cards.

(1600-2500)

Carly growled a bit as she started her turn. "You think you've won, haven't you? Well, guess what? You haven't! You see, you've made a terrible mistake, and for it, you shall pay! The stars are telling me your fortune, and they say it is grim. You will not go any further than this!" Matsu looked at her, a bit afraid of what she was going to do.

"I'm activating the spell card, Monster Reborn! I'll be using it to special summon from my graveyard the Fortune Lady Earth that you just destroyed. Too bad she won't be staying here for long. I'll be sacrificing her and my other Fortune Lady to summon the Earthbound Immortal, Aslla Piscu (2500/2500) in attack mode!" The two sorceress' disappeared, and high in the sky, where all the fog was being sucked in, was the Earthbound Immortal. It was mighty, and it was terrifying, but Matsu still stayed optimistic.

_'That monster can't win... My monster's attack points are higher!'_

"Now, Future Vision's effect activates, and he is sent into my next turn!" The large bird screeched and flew back into the clouds, hidden from sight.

"What good was that? You just summoned a powerful monster and its already gone! Looks like you are the one who will lose this duel!" said Matsu, gloating.

"That was the plan." she said with an evil smile. "You see, when Aslla Piscu is removed from the field, all of your monsters are destroyed, and you lose 800 life points for each one! And since you have two monsters on your field, that's a total of 1600 life points!" Matsu was shocked. He could do nothing but watch in terror as the Immortal sent powerful shock waves and destroyed everything around him, sending him back a few feet.

(0-2500)

He lied down on the floor, his body slowly disappearing. Jack hurried to him, wanting to try as hard as he could to save him. "Forget it." said Matsu. "Its too late...Just save everyone else. They still have a chance... Also, take this. Its very important that you get the lesson I was trying to teach you..." said Matsu as he spoke his final words, handing Jack a card.

Jack turned it around, and saw that it was Dramatic Rescue. It took a couple of moments, but Jack got the message, and was glad that he did. Now he knew what he had to do.

"Well, are you going to duel me, Jack?"

"You bet I am." he said, getting on his Duel Runner. "I'm doing this for Kira, my friends, and more importantly, you. I going to save you... No matter what it takes." He put the card in his pocket as the duel commenced, the sound of the Duel Runners being heard from miles away...

* * *

[Background Music: And one by Linkin Park]

The day was wearing out. It was almost sunset. Even from inside the fun house, they could tell.

Zeke stared at Misty for a moment. "You know, we don't have to do this. I understand how you feel, and I know of what Divine has done, but it doesn't mean that you have to go along with this. You are just spreading more war, chaos, and destruction."

"You don't understand it at all." she replied. "I am no longer mad at Divine. I know what he has done, and he's gotten what he deserves, but the truth is, that I'm after the Signer. _She_ was the one who killed my brother, and as long as she's around, I won't be satisfied."

"She is not at fault! She was and _is_ just as much of a victim as your brother! Don't take it out on her!"

"_She's_ a victim? Do you know what has happened to me, all because of what she and Divine has done? Not only did I lose my brother, who was the only family I had left, but I died too. The worst part of it was... Even through death, I was condemned to walk through this earth as a spirit, forced to play a role in a 5,000 year old war, unable to be reunited with my brother. I have suffered a lot, and so has my brother! So now, I'll take my revenge on the one who is at fault! So get out of my way. I'm going to kill Akiza and the rest of the Signers!"

"Sorry about that, then... It seems that you will not listen to reason. So, _I'm_ going to stop you by whatever means necessary!" he said. "Prepare to duel!"

Their Duel Disks activated, and the battle began.

"I'll begin." said Misty. "I'll summon Reptillianne Gardna (0/2000) in defense mode!" The large heavy turtle materialized on the field, hiding in its thick shell, its eyes peering out from the darkness. "Next, I'll activate the field spell, Savage Colosseum!" The ground shook, and large columns rose out of the ground. Once it had appeared, Zeke looked to his side, and saw that he was on a large colosseum. To be more precise, a part of it, near the very top.

'_'Damn...'_ he thought.

"I'll set two cards face-down and end my turn." The two mysterious cards materialized behind Reptillianne Gardna, becoming more menacing at the passing of every second.

(4000-4000)

Zeke drew a card, and examined his hand. He held Draining Shield, Shining Eagle*, Stealth bird, Roc from the Valley of Haze, Harpie's Brother, and A Hero Emerges!.

"I'll begin by setting a monster." Stealth Bird appeared on the field, concealed by a face-down card. "Next, I'll place two cards face-down, and end my turn." he said, A Hero Emerges! and Draining Shield appearing face-down on his field.

(4000-4000)

"Not much of a turn, huh? Oh well, to each his own." she said as she drew her next card. "I'll summon Reptillianne Gorgon (1400/1400) in attack mode!" A large snake-like monster appeared on the field, her eyes filled with death, and her hair, which was made of snakes, began to bite randomly, trying to catch something. "Attack his monster!" Her monster slithered over to the other side of the field, and attempted to scratch wildly at the monster, until it saw a trap card that stopped it dead in it's tracks.

"I activate the trap card, A Hero Emerges! Now, you have to choose one of the cards that I hold in my hand, and if its a monster, then I get to summon it! So I suggest you choose wisely..." he said. It hadn't mattered, though. All he held in his hand were monsters, and some good ones as well. It wouldn't matter what she chose, since he would only benefit from this.

She pointed to the card in the middle of his hand. He smiled as he summoned it. "Thanks for that. I special summon Roc from the Valley of Haze (2400/1400) in attack mode!" The large vulture appeared behind Zeke, its bony head looking at the Gorgon. "What will you do now?"

"I'll attack anyways." she said. The Gorgon scratched the face-down monster wildly, until it shattered and she retreated back to her owner's side of the field. "Your turn. And also, thanks to my field spell, whenever a monster attacks, after the damage is calculated, the player gets 300 life points."

(4300-4000)

Zeke scowled as he drew his next card. This time, he drew Malevolent Nuzzler. "I'll start by summoning Shining Eagle* (2200/1900) in attack mode." The winged beast appeared next to Roc, emitting rays of light that blinded both players for a few moments. As soon as he could see again, he continued. "Now, attack her Gorgon!" The eagle screeched, and attempted to destroy the Gorgon. It's attack stopped halfway with the activation of another trap card.

"I activate Negate Attack! I'm stopping your attack and ending your battle phase." she said.

Looking around at the field, and his hand, he had nothing else to do and ended his turn.

"Also, another one my field spell's effect activates. If a monster of yours doesn't attack, then it is destroyed!"

Zeke was shocked. Not only had he failed to rid her field of monsters, but she was able to destroy one of his! His Roc shattered into pieces, angering him a bit.

(4300-4000)

"My turn." She drew her next card, smiling at the sight of it.

"I'll sacrifice my Gorgon to summon, Bitelon (2400/1000) in attack mode!" The Gorgon screeched, and it melted into the ground. From a hole in that spot, flew out a large purple monster, resembling a chinese dragon with its long body and small limbs. "Now, attack his Shining Eagle*!"

The monster hit Shining Eagle* with a powerful swing from its mighty tail. The winged beast screeched, but it remained there. The force of this attack knocked Zeke back onto his feet, but he wasn't kept down for very long. "My monster cannot be destroyed through battle or card effects..."

"Really? Oh well, I'll switch my Gorgon to defense mode and I'll end my turn." Her monster curled its tail around itself, trying to protect itself from harm.

(4600-3800)

Zeke looked at his card. It was the one he needed. The one he could use to turn this whole duel around. The only problem? He couldn't use it yet.

"I'll summon Harpie's Brother (1800/600) in attack mode!" The humanoid creature, with red wings and a red scarf around its neck, appeared on the field. "Now, Shining Eagle, attack her Gardna!" The beast screeched, and swooped down from the sky, clawing at Gardna until it shattered. "That's all for now..." he said, as Harpie's Brother suddenly shattered.

(4600-4100)

Misty looked at him. "You know, you look familiar... Still, I can't put my finger on it for some reason... Anyways, I guess it doesn't matter. I'll start my turn by activating the spell card, Advance Force! This allows me to sacrifice my Bitelon and summon a monster of a higher level." The large monster flew up into the sky and a light shone, quickly followed by the disappearance of the dark mist that hung around the area. At the top of the colosseum, a large lizard monster looked inside, its voice deep and destructive.

"I summon, Earthbound Immortal Ccarayhua (2800/1800) in attack mode! Now, attack his monster!" The large monster obeyed her command, and swatted away Shining Eagle*. Thankfully, Shining Eagle* survived the attack and remained on the field. "That's enough for this turn. Your move."

(4900-3500)

_'Shit... She summoned it! I just hope my next card is the one I need, otherwise... I'm dead!'_ he thought.

He looked at the card he had drawn. On the outside, he was as serious as ever. On the inside, however, he was smiling. "I'm activating the spell card, Cost Down! Now, I get to reduce the level of a monster in my hand by two! So, I'm sacrificing my Eagle to summon... Mystic Falcon* (2900/2200) in attack mode!" Shining Eagle screeched and emitted a powerful burst of light. Once the light was gone, a large and powerful falcon floated on the field, its head protected by a thick metal helmet. Its long colorful tail was almost as long as its wings.

"Next, I'll equip it with Malevolent Nuzzler!" The dark necklace appeared around the falcon, and its attack points rose to 3600!

Fortunately for him, he already knew about the effects of the Immortals, so he went straight after her and her life points. "Attack her directly!" The large bird flapped its wings and assaulted her with a powerful gust of wind. Were it not for her Earthbound Immortal, she would have fallen off the edge of the colosseum. "I'll end my turn now!"

(1300-3800)

She looked up at the falcon in anger. "Now I get it... I was sure I had seen this tactic before, but I didn't think it would be you..."

"What do you mean?" asked Zeke.

"No use in hiding it. You revealed your identity the moment you summoned that monster! You are Zeke Naganori, aren't you? The third best duelist in the world about four years ago. Still, I don't get something... Why are you here? I recall the news talking about how you committed suicide..."

"Getting out from Divine's clutches is hard. So I ultimately faked my own death..."

"Hmm... No wonder. Still, this is quite a surprise. Not only do I get the pleasure of dueling against one of the best duelists in history, but I also get to be your exterminator!"

"Keep dreaming!" he replied.

"You should have stayed dead... Ccarayhua, attack him directly!"

"You won't get that chance! I activate the trap card, Draining Shield!" The lizard's attack was blocked by the barrier that resulted from the use of the trap card.

"Very well. You bought yourself another turn, but it won't last long!"

(1300-6600)

Zeke drew another card, and contemplated his choices. His only choice right now was to attack. "Falcon, attack her directly!" Once again, the falcon flapped its large wings and sent a powerful gust of wind to Misty. However, the attack somehow bounced off and hit Zeke, knocking him back against a wall. Once the wind subsided, he fell to the ground from the cracked wall that he was thrown against. "What... was that?" he asked, trying to gather the strength to get up.

"I activated the trap card, Magic Cylinder, sending the attack back at you." she explained.

Finally getting up, he looked at her. _'Damn... I can see that this is not good...'_

"I'll end my turn."

(1300-3000)

"Your last turn, you mean. I'll equip my Ccarayhua with the equip spell, Reptillianne Rage! This card increases the power of my monster by 800 points, making it a total of 3600!" As the colorful armor appeared on the Immortal, Zeke could tell that his time was up. Not only did the Immortal's power rival that of his own monster, but he had no more traps, no more tactics to get out of this mess. Even worse, the Immortal could attack directly, which meant certain death...

"Attack him directly!"

The Immortal attempted to crush Zeke under its powerful punch, but Mystic Falcon* had other plans, getting between the two, trying to protect Zeke with the strength it had left. "Thanks... Falcon..." The Immortal easily pushed the bird aside and crushed Zeke. The battleground had quickly returned to its original state, the monster having disappeared.

(1300-0)

"I told you that you couldn't defeat a Dark Signer..."

Zeke remained lying on the ground, too weak to move.

"Akiza... I know you are there... Please, come over here." he said. From behind one of the mirrors, appeared Akiza. "I know you've been watching the duel. Listen... There's something I want to tell you..."

She approached him, and knelled down next to him. "I told you that you couldn't do it... Why did you even do something this stupid?" she asked him, tears falling from her face.

"I wanted to save you... To save everyone... Still, it seems I failed. However, I can see that you are truly the only choice we have left." He handed her a card. She wiped the tears off and looked at the card. It was the spell card, Change of Heart. "What's this for?" she asked him.

"Sometimes... That's all most of us really need. A simple change of heart. Please, remember that..." were his last words.

She held the card, shifting her gaze to and from the card to the spot where he was lying down. "Alright... I will..."

She got up, and faced Misty. "I will make sure that no more people get hurt by you or any of the other Dark Signers!"

And so, the duel began...

* * *

A bright light shone in Matsu's eyes. Putting his hand over his face to provide some cover from it, he was able to see better. He could hear the sound of children laughing, and turned his head to the ball that had rolled over to him. He grabbed it, and looked at the incoming kids.

"Look, he's awake!" said a voice from the back.

"Hey mister, can we have the ball back?" asked the little girl who approached him.

"Sure..." he said, still a bit drowsy, and gave it back to her. He watched the kids run back to the spot in the street where they were playing.

_'Why do I keep dreaming about that?'_ he asked himself, thinking about his dream regarding the Signers and Dark Signers. _'Actually, a better question would be, why am I here?'_ He got up and stretched, looking around at the small alley that he was in.

"Now that I think about it..." he said to himself. "That dream felt so real...Could that have happened...?"

He shook his head, and walked out the alley, running down the alley to where his home was. "I almost forgot! I can't be late! Today's the day!" he said to himself as he ran.

Back in the alley, in the spot where he was sitting down, was a card. It was a monster named 'Ice Master'. None of the people around there had ever noticed it, but it was there. It was very curious. Why was that card there in the first place? This however, was a question that was quickly answered by an old man in a cloak who passed by. Still, the answer came in the form of a hint. The old man bent over picked up the card, and left the alley with it.

_Not everyone learns what is their purpose in life..._

[Ending Theme: Meant to Live by Switchfoot]

**End of YuGiOh! 5D's: Warriors of the Sky.

* * *

**

A/N: Yeah. I became too busy to finish this chapter quickly, so it took me a very long time to get it fully done. Anyways, I appreciate those of you who've read the story and liked it. Thanks, and I hope you read my upcoming works.

* * *

**----CARD ALBUM----**

Mystic Falcon - Monster Card

Type: Winged Beast

Attribute: Wind

Level: 8

ATK: 2900

DEF: 2200

Effect: If this card was tribute summoned by sacrificing 'Shining Eagle', then once per turn, it is immune to destruction through card effects.


End file.
